Dragon Tamer
by goldensomething
Summary: This is the story of Rouge, Ace's long-lost daughter, and a continuation of the One Piece Fan Fiction universe of my other story, The Way of the Sword and Rose. It focuses on Rouge, a sea-faring smuggler who lives wild and free on the waves, the way her father used to, and her daring dance with a Marine who has every plan to take her in, if he can survive her heat.
1. Chapter 1

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

The Jolly Roger was one of the more popular taverns in town, and often boasted a number of different outlaws, most prominently of which are pirates, for obvious reasons. However, the outlaw who stepped through the faded and scratched door and into the darkened interior _wasn_ _'t_ a pirate. No, this outlaw was famous for quite a different reason, though few would know by the sight of her. That's right, a _her._

Portgas D. Rouge, known by most as Dragon Rouge, let a slow and wicked smile curve her lips as she strut her way past the numerous tables that littered the tavern, and didn't stop until she plopped herself down on a stool in front of the bar. She was a slender woman of twenty years, and wore only a pair of cropped black shorts that hung dangerously low on her hips, a black string bikini top with flames racing up the triangles of material, and a bright blue, puffy down vest, unzipped. As for weapons, a dagger was secured on her belt, right above her left ass cheek, and heavy black boots came up to her knees, boasting small knives that could shoot out from under the toe.

Besides that, she had only her fists. But then, when one was part dragon thanks to the abilities of a devil fruit, one didn't need many weapons. It also helped that she'd been trained in martial arts since her infancy by some of the most powerful people in the world.

Few in that tavern, or indeed most of the world, knew her as Portgas D. Rouge, since she shouldn't even exist in the first place. Her father was Portgas D. Ace, after all, and he was supposed to be dead. It was a good thing, too, because she looked an awful lot like her father, especially with her freckles. These days, though, few would be able to pick up on that.

"Well well...if it isn't little Rouge...what can I get for ya, darlin'?" A rough voice asked from across the pitted and dented wood of the bartop. The woman popped her black stetson off her head with one finger, letting it fall across her shoulders, secured by the tie around her neck, and offered a smile to the older man with short salt and pepper hair. He held a rag in one hand and a glass in the other, and was slowly cleaning the glass with said rag as he watched her with amused but kind brown eyes. His mustache bristled with every word he spoke, and twitched when he wasn't saying a word at all.

"I'll take a tankard and any food your willing to part with, Jonny," she replied, and pulled off the thick leather gloves that covered her slender fingers.

Portgas D. Rouge was smuggler, but most of her family and friends were pirates, so she'd always been welcomed at this particular tavern. Not only was her father the supposedly late Fire Fist Ace, but her uncle was the King of the Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy. Because of that, she was also very close with the rest of the man's crew, and through them, a multitude of pirates renown around the world. In fact, it was their influence that got her into her present line of work. Sorta.

She grew up on an island that had once been a rebel island to the old World Government, and so smugglers had been the only way for her island, Roctortue Island, to receive many of the goods they needed. The smugglers who most often came to her island belonged to the worlds biggest smuggling ring, let by the notorious Black Bull. Since her only dream since childhood had been to be free and able to travel the world, she's seen smuggling as the perfect opportunity to spread her wings, so to speak. With her uncle's backing and his many connections, along with her own connections with the smugglers she'd become familiar with since childhood, she'd been able to join Black Bull's smuggling ring. In fact, she'd made quite a name for herself as the Dragon Smuggler, with a bounty of 200,000,000 beris on her head.

It had been a hard fight, to get her extremely protective father to allow her to sail the open sea, and many concessions had been made, but now she was living her dream, and she couldn't be happier. She had her own ship, and was able to sail the open ocean alone thanks to all of the modifications that her Uncle Franky had put into it. It was about the size of a one-man skiff, but deeper, so that she had a small set of living quarters below deck. The bottom was lined with sea stone to ward off the sea kings, and there were more hidden canons and guns on the thing than she could ever imagine. It was capable of sailing, but also had a cola-powered engine for getting across the calm belt easily if necessary. Franky had wanted to call her ship the "Frankinator 2000," but she'd respectfully declined and named it the Wave Dragon instead.

Suffice as it is to say, she'd been obsessed with dragons for a long time, ever since she'd discovered their relationship with fire and the ocean when she was only 4 years old. Since her infancy, she'd been obsessed with fire and water because of the seemingly magical things her parents-the owners of the fire fire fruit and the water water fruit-could do. That had also played a part into why she'd become a smuggler. Once she'd learned that a zoan-type devil fruit for a dragon _did_ exist, she'd known that the smuggling underworld would be the best way to find it. She'd always wanted to be a devil fruit user, despite her father's warnings. It had taken her two years of hard searching, but eventually she'd been successful.

Since then, her reputation as the Dragon Smuggler had only skyrocketed. Being able to fly short distances and breath fire had definitely allowed her to take on more dangerous and notorious smuggling assignments. Because of this, she'd been promoted to the Inner Circle of the Bull, a group of twelve smugglers who are the Black Bulls most trusted agents. It was part of the reason why her bounty was so high. If they knew who her father was, it would be higher, but that secret had been kept tightly seal to the few who knew.

"It's yer lucky day, Rouge. We made some hearty beef stew, one of yer favorites," Jonny's voice interrupted her nostalgic thoughts as he placed a large bowl down in front of her, followed by a plate of sliced bread and a large tankard of creamy ale. Rouge grinned up at him eagerly, and was already digging in when she mumbled her thanks through a mouthful of bread and stew. The man only laughed and shook his head at her.

"Ya eat like yer Uncle," Jonny added as he reached for his rag and glass once more. What he didn't know was that she learned her eating habits from her father before Luffy. When people asked her how she was related to Luffy, she just told them he'd known her since her childhood and so she called him Uncle. It wasn't far from the truth, and seemed to satisfy everyone who had been curious about a lone female naming the Pirate king as her Uncle.

"A good appetite means a person is healthy," Rouge told the man as she whipped her lips off of frothy ale. She grinned at his loud laughter before digging back in to her food.

Dragons had good hearing, and it was this reason that she was able to overhear the conversation being had across the room at two tables surrounded by a multitude of men.

"Did you hear what that damn King of the Pirates did? They destroyed Larsen and his crew the other day! Now their rotting in Impel Down. Who does he think he is, putting another pirate in jail like that? He's getting old now too...I say we get some people together and get some revenge."

Rouge turned her head, and stopped eating. Jonny had already wandered down the bar to talk to a couple of pirates.

"I dunno, Gid, he _is_ the Pirate King..." one of the men said in a more nervous voice.

"Yeah, but that was _year_ ago. He's old now," the apparent leader, Gid, replied, leaning back in his hair and cross his arms behind his head. "If we get enough people, it'll be a breeze. It's about time he stepped down anyways."

Very slowly, Rouge put down her stew spoon, and then stood up. Jonny glanced over at her for a moment, saw the calm, cold look on her face, and stopped polishing the glass in his hand. Apprehension slid over the old man's face as he watched Rouge calmly make her way over to the group of men in the corner, laughing now at some joke that had been tossed out about the "old" king of the pirates.

Once she was close enough, she stepped right between two men, then lifted her heavy boot and let it fall on the table's surface, causing the man next to her to jump, and the rest to turn, and gape.

"Excuse me, gentlemen...but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation while I was enjoying my delicious stew," she said sweetly.

"It's none of your business, bitch," the man Gid said in nasty voice, dropping his hands from behind his head and leaning towards her threateningly. Rouge didn't budge an inch, and continued to smile coldly at the man, her bright blue eyes twinkling.

"Oh, it most certainly _is_ my business when you're talking about my Uncle," she answered, and her voice slowly lost its sweetness and picked up a hard edge. "Who doesn't need to be putting any shitty pirates like _you_ in jail. They're pathetic enough to get themselves caught, obviously. And if you think he's getting old enough for a couple of weaklings like you to take him out...well, I almost feel inclined to let you try, just so I can see how badly you get your asses handed to you. He would only need his pinky finger to do it, judging from what I see."

For a full thirty seconds, no one moved or spoke as they openly gaped at her in full surprise. She could well imagine their shock, since very few people knew her reputation by sight. There weren't too many female outlaws who got bounties as high as she had, after all. Even less who could claim the King of the Pirates as their uncle.

"You-you dirty whore!" Gid suddenly screeched indignantly, shooting to his feet. "Watch what you say or I'll tear that pretty mouth of yours right off!" Belatedly, the rest of his crew also shot to their feet. Rouge still didn't move, and continued to smile at them coldly.

"Oh, I'm sure I could handle myself with a bunch of pansies like you. It might even give you an idea of the type of power the Pirate King has, if his niece can kick your ass," She said with a wicked grin, tossing her head back confidently and crossed her arms over her chest.

That was the last straw. She was known for her sassy mouth, and it often got her into trouble. Today, it started a tavern-wide brawl. After the men jumped for her, other pirates and outlaws naturally got bumped in the process, and that only snow-balled fight until it had escalated to a tavern-wide brawl.

Honestly, she hadn't meant for that to happen...She had _wanted_ to kick their asses before it got out of hand. Funny how they never sit still for that...

Now she was in the midst of it, ducking and throwing punches with the best of them, a large grin on her face. She was rubbing her knuckles after bunching a man with a particularly _hard_ face when someone grabbed her from behind, hefting her off the ground with an angry roar. Startled, Rouge let out a surprised gasp and she flailed, trying to twist around enough to kick him where it counts.

The Government had gone through some serious face-lifts in the past two decades. After The Straw Hat Pirates basically blew up the new Marine Headquarters in the New World and led the world into a history-altering revolution and Monkey D. Luffy took his predestined seat as King of the Pirates, the current government had been disabled and built again, this time lacking the corruption and ulterior motives. There still needed to be Marines, still needed to be a governing system because not every civilian was good and not every pirate was bad. Each island/kingdom came together and formed a ruling body compromised of elected officials and they together made decisions involving the world. There are no more rebel islands, no more indentured slaves. The Marines, governed by this body exist purely to keep the peace, balance justice and the only wars that happen are civil ones where larger islands fight other islands over resources or local government issues.

And of course, anything involving pirates. Because pirates and Marines represented the opposing ends of justice; the good guys and the bad guys.

King of the Pirates Monkey D. Luffy headed the pirate campaign and after the second war, Coby stepped up in a ruined Marine system to take the seat of Fleet Admiral. As far as everyone was concerned, no one else could match against the pure craziness and power that is the Straw Hat captain. While the Fleet Admiral would not waste a chance to capture and kill Straw Hat Luffy should the opportunity arise, he had more important matters to tend to. And with zero beef against the Marines now, said pirate and all his affiliates and allies basically minded their own business. The two major warring powers; the Marines and the Straw Hats had reached an unofficial cease-fire.

This is where the world was at, some twenty years later.

Knowles Lukas sat at the desk in his office doing his least favorite thing in the whole world; paper work. But it was required of him, especially having just tossed some pirate and his whole crew into the pits of Impel Down. Not that he did any of the work, really. Straw Hat Luffy had basically blown through those guys and left them in a pile of unconscious bodies for the Marines to scoop up at their earliest convenience. And the Pirate King himself had disappeared – again – without a trace.

Lukas heaved a sigh and tossed the pen on the desk and leaned back in his chair, his head listing back. His boots made a hollow noise as he propped them up on the ornate wood. His office was large, mirroring his status as vice admiral and the two walls that corned his desk were painted with wanted posters. Looking at him, normally vice admiral was not the first status people assumed. He was the youngest vice admiral to come along in a long time, a whopping twenty-seven years old. But he'd been in the Marines nearly as long as the rest of them, having enlisted as soon as he could at the age of thirteen. Fourteen years of devoted service in the name of justice.

A knock sounded on his door, "Vice Admiral Knowles! Sir, the island has been spotted!"

He picked his head up and peered at the paperwork on his desk, then flickered his eyes to the door. Paper work… island… paper work… island…

The island won out – not a tough fight because he despised paper work – and he stood, slinging his jacket over his shoulders. It was heavier than he made it look, a few of his custom-made firearms tucked inside it, capable of being drawn in the blink of an eye. As was customary, he had a three piece suit underneath the jacket in a light slate gray color with a seafoam green shirt with a white tie. The color brought out the green of his eyes. It was crisp, it was clean, it was adult and being younger than his colleagues, it was important to dress the part of senior ranking.

The day was overcast yet not damp, a perfect day for sailing. As soon as he exited his office, his captain came up to his side and handed him a scope. Lukas put it right to his peepers and took a look at the horizon.

"You're certain this is the island?" he asked, collapsing the looking glass and handing it back the captain.

"Yes, sir," she replied. Captain Sethe Jahzara was a force to be reckoned with. Strong, beautiful, her fists were as sharp as her wits. And she was loyal to a fault, "When the call came in, I had the navigators set the coordinates to this place right away, sir."

"Good. We'll see if we can't sniff them out here," recently, there had been some huge problems occurring in the smuggling business, big enough so that Marines were actually getting hits on it, rather than the problems simply resolving themselves within the organizations. This time, shit was going down. The Inner Circle of the Bulls, top smugglers of the largest underground smuggling trade in the world run by the Black Bull, were rumored to be involved in sealing a deal with a local organized crime family here on this island.

He had a feeling that all hell was going to break loose. In that case, he wanted to bag and tag someone, preferably one of the Inner Circle.

He and his ship of one hundred marine soldiers were greeted at the pier by those stationed at this island.

"Vice Admiral, sir!" he was saluted by the Commodore of the military station here.

"Commodore," Lukas greeted, waving off the subordinates and walking with the Commodore back to the station, "How are things here?"

"Quiet, sir," he replied, "We have scouts out keeping an eye on things."

"Very good. Mind if I take a look around town?"

"Not at all, sir."

The town was large, more or less like a city. It was bustling and loud, people out shopping and socializing. A few people greeted him, a couple of the marines that were out and about stopped and saluted him. Mostly, people stayed clear of him. He was a vice admiral; people knew his face as much as they knew his name. And with it came some respect and fear.

A sound drew him. It sounded like a fight. Swears, curses, the squelching sound of fists hitting faces, the thud and crash of bodies being thrown. It was coming from the tavern at the end of the street, evident from the people skirting around it and the fact that a chair flew out of the window with violent velocity.

Lukas raced to the scene and threw the doors open, one hand on a gun at his hip, ready to fire shots into the air to still the crowd. What met his eyes was pure chaos. Not a soul stopped to give him a second look, so focused on maiming whoever was closest to them. Outlaws alike traded shiners, liquor bottles shattered. Some pirate tossed another one like he was a sack of rice right out the door, missing Lukas by a hair.

A behemoth of a man caught his eye and – though his size was enough to pick him out of the crowd any day – it wasn't so much the man as it was the little woman he was hauling by the collar of her puffy blue vest. She was a spitfire, that was for sure. She was kicking and punching for everything that she was worth, flailing her limbs and twisting her body around. Her black Stetson bounced around her shoulders, tangling with the strands of dark curls that came loose from the thick bun she had it tied up in. And she was cursing like a sailor.

It looked like she caught herself in a wrong place at the wrong time situation. She didn't look anything like the riffraff in here. Probably some poor civilian who got caught up in this mess before she had time to get the hell out of dodge.

He shoved his way through the fight and tapped the behemoth on the shoulder. The guy turned and it was the shock factor that worked in Lukas' favor. As the pirate was processing the fact that he was just interrupted by a Marine officer, Lukas decked him hard in the temple, knocking the guy out instantly. Then, he grabbed the girl by her thing wrist and hauled her out of the tavern and into the street.

In the light, he got a good look at her. She was younger and very pretty, with bright, bold blue eyes, the dark curls and a splash of freckles across her face. And a rocking body, if he did say so.

"Hey, are you alright, miss?" he asked her, brushing off the sleeves of his suit jacket.

One second, she was struggling to kick a guy in the jewels, the next, she was being dragged out of the tavern by her wrist. She put up no resistance, deciding she was done with the tavern anyways, but didn't see who, exactly, was pulling her out until the bright sun tumbled down around her and fresh air filled her nostrils.

"Yeah, I'm just fine. Damn shitheads don't know when-" she turned towards the figure that had pulled her out and blinked up at him in the bright light. It took a second for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, she abruptly shut right up. The man she was staring at had short-cropped blond hair, striking green eyes, and towered a head above her own average height. His broad shoulders were covered in a heavy-looking white jacket with golden tassels off his shoulders.

She was staring up at Marine Vice Admiral Knowles.

Being a smuggler, she made it a habit of being familiar with all of the marines who could potentially bring her to justice. This one in particular got her attention; he was currently the youngest vice admiral, but he more than made up for it in his relentless attitude of bringing in outlaws.

Shit.

"Well, it's been nice, thanks very much!" she said hastily, flashing him a grin before she hurriedly took three steps back, turned, and took off down the alley next to the tavern. She booked it, knowing that while none of the men that had been in that tavern could have harmed a hair on her head, _he_ most certainly could.

As soon as she made it to the next alley over, she shot a quick glance over her shoulder, and when she saw that it was still empty, she hurriedly shifted to her middle zoan. Elegant dragon wings burst from her back, out under the back of her vest, and spread wide to scoop up air as she jumped up. The powerful wings beat once, twice, three times, giving her the height needed to step onto the roof. Just as swiftly as the wings had appeared, they disappeared now as she continued her sprint along the rooftops.

Her booted feet barely made a sound as she shot from roof to roof. After she'd traveled almost a quarter of the city in length, she skidded to a stop and whipped around, her brows furrowed as she plopped her hat back on her head, and scanned the rooftops.

Nothing.

Her long, wavy black hair had come loose in her sprint, so she scooped up the unruly length and hastily secured it in a messy bun as she continued to scan. Hadn't he pursued her? Maybe he hadn't recognized her...

After another three minutes of nothing, she shrugged, and headed for the edge of the roof. This was for the better, even if the guy _had_ been a hottie. She didn't need a Vice Admiral on her tail when she had serious business to attend to. Tomorrow night, she would meet with the Don to deliver her precious cargo of illegal tiger-leopard kittens. The Don was the head of a notorious crime family from this particular island that had never done business with the Black Bull before, and her boss was particularly keen on this transaction going without a hitch in order to ensure future business with the wealthy family.

Rouge, the Dragon Smuggler, jumped down from the roof, landed on a second story balcony, then leapt the rest of the way to land in an easy crouch, startling the men and women on the street. She offered her cheeky smile, dusted off her shorts, then headed in the direction of the inn she'd rented a room in. Time to feed the cubs!

She looked up at him like she was seeing a ghost, her words dying in her throat. Then, with a jaunty wave and a cheeky grin, she was gone and he was left standing literally in her dust, blinking in confusion.

What… was that? Why did she just take off like that? Granted, he was a Marine Vice Admiral and ya, that gave people some lenience to fear him, but he didn't think that anyone had run away from him that fast unless they were a criminal.

He analyzed her appearance in his head. Black hat, bold blue eyes, freckles, shit-eating smirk, waves of cascading curls… she was very pretty.

It hit him like a freight train and he cursed. He should have recognized her right away! Since the call had come in that he was to be tracking down possibly one of the Inner Circle of the Bull smuggling ring, he'd posted their wanted posters right up on his wall. They were a dangerous group, with high bounties for a reason. But one of the Circle had struck him; a young girl, around his own age probably with dark curls and wicked blue eyes and that smile…

He'd just saved the Dragon Smuggler from a bar fight and let her slip through his fingers. 200,000,000 beri bounty, she was easily the most lethal. It was rumored she was as cunning as a dragon and her wits were just as fast. Coupled with the ability to horde and smuggle, that had been how she earned the nickname Dragon Smuggler. Little else was known about her, not even her name. It made finding her an absolute bitch.

He couldn't believe that he just let her slip through his fingers! But she was here and she was not going to leave this island unless it was in chains on his ship. Smuggling was not as dangerous on his list as say, pirates could be – they weren't known for raping and pillaging villages at least – but smuggling was dangerous and the trade of illegal goods was illegal for a reason.

She would be brought to justice. A few years in Impel Down would straighten her right out.

Lukas headed back to the station immediately and gave orders to shut down the harbors. No one was leaving without his permission. Marines were dispatched to the harbor to keep an eye on who came in and out.

He headed onto his ship to his office and pulled her wanted poster over in front of him. Striking really, she was a total knockout. A crocodile smile, her hat pulled low over her eyes and giving the camera the bird. Lukas chuckled under his breath and pinned her poster on his wall before propping his boots on the desk to stare at it. Dangerous _and_ beautiful. That kinda woman would have turned on any sane man, but he was a man of justice. He strove for peace and balance.

He flexed his hands and the fine white scars across the backs of his knuckles shone bright white against the tight skin. His childhood had been riddled with tragedy and bad decisions; those lines were his reminder that the whips had come down hard on his hands for stealing and trading on the black market. He was lucky he didn't lose them, but the Marine officer had been fair with him. He had been given an ultimatum: join the Marines or be arrested. At ten years old, being arrested was worse than death. (OOC- In my last post, I said that he enlisted at age thirteen. I'm changing that now. He joined at ten years old as a chore boy or something)

And here he was, nearly two decades later.

He leaned over and grabbed a marker off his desk and turned, drawing a circle around the Dragon Smuggler's face. He would get her, if she was here. He would get her, and she would lead him come hell or high water to the Black Bull and he, Lukas Knowles, would disband the biggest smuggling ring in the world.

The following evening, Rouge got the tiger leopard cubs into a large box, filled with straw bedding and cuts of meat. Then, she moved the box up to the roof. It was dark out, and no moon shone to illuminate the darkened rooftops over most of the town. Rouge smirked, dusting her hands off as she finished securing the harness and stood. Her blue eyes glittered like sapphires in the night, calculating the distance and direction she would be heading in to meet up with the De Maccello family.

Still, it worried her that a vice admiral was around. She couldn't get the guys face out of her head. He'd been an extremely handsome man, and the fact that he wasn't old definitely helped. Most of the vice admirals were much older, but he had seemed barely older than herself.

Still, even though he was a sexy beast, it didn't mean she wanted to meet up with him any time soon. She had to get this job done, and get the hell out of there.

Moving a few steps away from the secured crate, Rouge rolled her shoulders and craned her neck from side to side, stretching out her muscles before her skin suddenly rippled. Across the tops of her arms, shoulders, back, along the front of her knees, and down her chest and across the tops of her breasts, glittering blue scales erupted. The true reason for her dangerously low shorts became apparent when a long and slender tail suddenly grew out from the base of her spine, also covered in the hard-as stone scales and bearing a fine black ridge along the center to the very agile tip. From her forehead, nestled in her thick, wavy hair, two black horns slide gracefully back, and and her pupils suddenly slid like that of a lizards. From her back, below her vest, grew out two large dragon wings, covered in the same blue scales and a fine blue-black membrane.

Letting out a yawn as her transformation finished, it became revealed that her canines had grown as well, into delicate but sharp looking fangs. "Time to get to business," she muttered, and stretched out her wings and beat them hard, leaping up into the air.

She flew gracefully over the crate, bent down to pick up the rigging with black claw tipped fingers. With a grunt, she was airborne, and headed in the direction of the Don's estates.

Since she was a dark color, she was near invisible as she flew across the dark, moonless sky. Once her wings began pumping, she moved quite swiftly. She couldn't stay airborne for too long, but she was fast in the time that she was able to. Within minutes, she was gliding over the outer perimeter. It was located at the edge of town, and boasted grand gardens in front of the man cluster of buildings.

She headed for the middle of the estate, then gracefully aimed for the courtyard, her powerful wings back-drafting as she came in for a landing. She dropped her parcel, then followed suit, landing on top of the crane and swiftly shifting to her human form, replacing her stetson back on top of her unruly mane of hair.

Around her, four men suddenly appeared, all holding large guns aimed right at her. She watched them with an amused smile playing over her red lips. "Is this the kind of greeting a person receives when hearing gifts of adorable kittens? Come on guys, too much," she said in a teasing voice, then hopped down from the crate, apparently unconcerned about the artillery aimed at her.

"Are you her, the Dragon Smuggler?" one of the men asked, and she glanced up at him with a raised brow.

"Who else do you think drops out of the sky bearing illegal goods? Are you that blind?" she asked dryly, then laughed when the man scowled at her. He grumbled under his breath, turn on his heel, and disappeared.

Within a minute, he was back, then lowered his gun now and indicated the entrance to the main house with his hand. "This way, miss," he said in a grudgingly polite voice, and glared at her cheeky grin as she sauntered past him.

"Thanks buddy. I appreciate it. Now don't let those darlings get cold. Bring them inside too," she said over her shoulder. She reaching out a hand with gloves that had the fingers cut off at the tip, and snapped her fingers at the men. All of them gaped at her openly, before reluctantly picking up the crate between them.

With a scowl on his face, the first man lead her down a series of halls until they came to a large room. She found herself face to face with a heavy man wearing a suit made of fine silk that she wanted to whistle her appreciate at. Since she was a smuggler, she was an excellent judge of value in items. She'd gotten a lot of help with that as a child too, since Nami the Thief was her aunt.

"Well hello there, Don De Maccello. I've brought the tiger-leopard kittens, as per ordered with my boss," she informed the guy, cocking out a hip and crossing her arms over her breasts. She smiled up at the guy an accomplished grin.

"Open the cart! I wish to see my merchandise before I pay for it..." the Don commanded, gesturing his hand to his men as his eyes continued to flicker over the female smuggler before him. A slow smile curved his lips as he studied her.

"My my, you're a very delicate woman for an outlaw with such a bounty...And with such a rare devil fruit too, or so I've heard...Miss Dragon Smuggler," the Don said in a slow drawl. His eyes shot away from her as the tiger-leopard cubs were revealed, and his smile only increased. "You know, I'm a collector of fine things," the Don continued, and his eyes returned to her.

Rouge took a step back, feeling like his grin was much too creepy for her likings. Still...She had a job to do.

"Do you have the payment that was agreed upon?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she studied him back.

The man slowly nodded, and lazily shooed his hand to a man standing near the back of the room. The guy jumped, bowed, and disappeared through a nearby door. He then reappeared, bearing a suitcase full of beris. Rouge grinned, and waited patiently as she man approached, then held out the case, open, for her to inspect.

She leaned forward, and sniffed. She had an excellent sense of smell, just like a dragon. She could smell fake treasure, and money, from a mile away. She glanced up at the Don, grinned in spite of herself, and held up a thumb. "Looks good, my man. Thanks for your business...The Bull gives his regards."

"You know...I have been unwilling to make arrangements with this Bull for a long time, since my men can very easily acquire most of what I need themselves." the man suddenly said, and forced her to stop and turn back to the guy. The case was secure in her right hand. She glanced up at the man and perked a brow, wondering why this mattered to her.

"But then I saw your poster, in the newspaper...You see, I'm a collector of rare and fine things, and when I found out about your fruit...I just _had_ to meet you. That's why I requested you, after all."

Rouge frowned. She hadn't known that she'd been requested. She felt her muscles get tense involuntarily.

"Though I requested you not be told, of course, because I wanted to surprise you," the man continued. Her lifted his chin, then subtly nodded. "Now that I've met you, I know I just have to _own_ you too, just like those beautiful tiger-leopard kittens!"

They'd snuck up behind her while the man had talked. By the time she realized what he intended, it was too late. She was halfway to her dragon form before they got the first cuff on her. She gasped as her energy was sucked out of her, and she lost control of her dragon.

She was utterly dumbfounded by how they'd managed to surprise her like this that she stood stock still for three seconds, paralyzed. Then, with a gasp, she leapt into action, jumping high in the air and shooting her legs out in a round-house kick to the nearest guys head.

He went down like a stone.

"Guards! Get her!" The Don suddenly roared, and Rouge suddenly went into a flurry of action, moving so fast she was practically a blur as she disentangled the man who had leapt for her and brought him down with a fast punch to his gut. Fury took the place of surprise as she fumed over how she could be dump enough to let them get a sea stone cuff on her. How the hell had the guy gotten his hands on one in the first place?

She shot away from them, and took off at a run. "After her! Bring her back to me! Lorin, Tucker, and George, go!" she could hear the Don yell.

And so the chase began. Rouge was fast, but so there the three men he'd sent after her. She cursed under her breath. Those guys looked tough, and she probably couldn't take them on without her devil fruit ability. No weakened the way she was. Already it was a strain just to run. Thank the heavens they had only gotten one cuff on her too.

She managed to get over the wall of the compound, and shot through the streets with the energy born from desperation. She was NOT going back to that place...How dare that ugly bastard think he could just pluck a person up like that and decide he wants to keep her! What an asshole. She was so getting revenge on him once she had her abilities back.

It was dark, but not late enough that the streets were empty. As she ran, she found herself needing to weave through people on the streets, and many of them let out shrieks of surprise as she shot past them, toppling some onto their asses. "Sorry!" she called back, waving a hand as she bolted, the three goons hot on her heels.

"Halt!" another voice called, and she shot a look over her shoulder only to see that a couple of marines on patrol had spotted the disturbance, and where pointing their swords at them imperiously. She rolled her eyes, heaving a sigh. Damn wouldn't be the same if the authorities didn't get involve, eh?

He was trained in reconnaissance. It had been his motif before he had demonstrated an affinity with Haki and was promoted to be a Vice Admiral.

Old habits die hard.

He wanted the Dragon Smuggler; she wasn't just going to fall into his lap. He had to go out and look for her.

He'd dressed down for this mission; combat boots, black pants and a dark, forest green long sleeved sweater. No coat tonight. His sword was attached at the belt and a chest holster with two custom-made long barreled handguns under his ribs. One was loaded with tranquilizers and the other was real, honest-to-god bullets. He wanted her alive, but at the same time, he wasn't taking any chances.

There was no evidence that she was going to be making the deal tonight; but he knew that she hadn't left the island. No one had come or went today without his immediate attention.

Currently, he was perched on the rooftops, checking out the scene with his scope, fitted with night-vision on it. The town was cloaked in a green tinge. It was quiet, but not too quiet. It wasn't so late that people had bunked in for the night and Marines were out and about, patrolling.

He was prepared to wait here all night for her. But it looked like he wasn't going to have to wait that long. The screams came from far off at first, and steadily got closer. Through his scope, he saw people rushing and moving to the sides of the streets as someone hurriedly shoved them aside, running. More people followed behind, behemoth men, easily his height and twice as broad.

It was the Dragon. She was beating feet like her vey life depended on it. Not surprising. Those were big fuckers chasing after his prize. Not tonight, friends. Not tonight.

Lukas collapsed his scope and rose. There was a fire escape off to his left and after one more look to track her trajectory, he hustled down the fire escape to give chase.

"Move move MOVE!" Rouge hollered to the people in street as she booked it, running as fast as possible. Dammit, didn't people sleep? She almost collided with three different people within a minute as she dashed and swerved. Always behind her were the heavy footsteps of the thugs on her tail.

Seriously, how did she ALWAYS get herself in situations like this? Well, she'd never been wanted as a "fine object" before, but she always got herself in unnecessary trouble. She really had to start being more careful with what she said and who she talked to...

There was a chance...a small chance that there might be someone...but she couldn't know if he would make it on time, or if he even knew she was in trouble for that matter.. Her eyes flickered up to the rooftops briefly, and picked up the pace, pushing herself. _No, positive thinking, Rouge,_ she told herself grimly. She could not let a bunch of thugs like this take her in.

She rounded a corner, and found herself in an alley with no exit. Cursing under her breath, she tried to spin around to correct her mistake, but the men were closer than she thought. She grit her teeth and shot for the exit anyways, but despite her commendable speed, it was too late.

The closest man caught her by her the shoulders of her vest, and used the momentum of his running body to drive her back into the alley and against the wall hard enough to force the air from her lungs and make her gasp.

She recovered fast, her hand shooting out and punching him, hard, in the temple before she let her legs buckle beneath her to drop low, simultaneously swinging her foot up to catch him in the balls. The man let out a grunt, falling back in pain as she rolled away and scrambled to her feet, a smirk of amusement playing over her lips. She back-flipped away from her attackers, kicking her legs out threateningly as she went. The second man, taller than the first, rushed her when she came to a stop.

Rouge skidded as she spun around to face him, then stomped both feet with enough pressure to send the blades hidden in her boots shooting out from under her toes. As the second man lunged for her, she dropped into a crouch, forcing the man to bend almost double as he went for her, then suddenly fell to the right as her left foot lashed out and then around towards the man. Her hands kept her balance as she moved with blurring speed, and the much larger man couldn't recover fast enough to avoid the blade as it slashed across his chest.

"Bitch!" he roared, rearing back with his fist. Rouge let out a taunting laugh and moved her head out of the way, then grabbed his wrist and continued his momentum as she tossed him over her hip. "Too slow!" she said with a nasty grin. He went down hard, and she launched herself up in the air to come crashing down on him with her elbow aimed at his spine, intending to knock him out, but she didn't see one of his buddies coming it before it was too late.

She was caught around the ankle, and the suddenly found herself tossed to the right until her body hit the wall with a thud. She bit back a yell and scrambled to recover her footing, but already she was surrounded.

This was what she was afraid of. One or two, and she could have handled them, but all three at once when she was wearing sea stone cuffs? Not so much confidence there...

As they grabbed for her, she fought like a madwoman, kicking, punching, even biting when she could. She could feel bruises and cuts being formed on her body by their rough hands as they fought for purchase, and she realized she at least had the advantaged that they wanted her alive.

A fist caught her on her temple, and her vision when blurry and her movements became sluggish. Panic set in, along with a sense of self-disappointment that she had let herself get in this situation. Pathetic, really. Even if the Bull sent men in after her, it was damn embarrassing to get caught in the first place. "You...assholes..." she grit out, her muscles screaming as she strained.

"Shut up and stop squirming," the tallest of them hissed in her ear as he pinned her against the wall, turning his hips away to protect himself from her wildly squirming body. His friend had her legs pinned to protect them from her bladed boots, but she got a sense of satisfaction from seeing all of the shallow cuts she _had_ managed to inflict on them.

There she was, just ahead of him. Being pursued by those guys.

Unless he wanted a downright fist fight with those guys, he needed a different method.

The street was crowded with people still milling about. He twisted and turned and said more "excuse me!" and "sorry!" than he probably had in his entire life. People shrieked and hustled out of his way. But he wasn't violent enough and every second was putting him farther and farther away from his catch. The street had been a poor decision. The roofs weren't crowded...

It would waste precious seconds... But he might be able to make up the time by sprinting. He was a pretty fast runner.

Lukas skidded and turned a sharp right, darting into an alley and catching the fire escape with his hand. He swung around and climbed the escape three steps at a time until he was pounding across the roof. At the edge of the building he jumped with everything he was worth and hit the roof of the next building running. He followed the indignant shouts of people until he finally caught up enough to get a visual on her.

Why wasn't she fighting? The Dragon Smuggler was known for not only her cunning wit and her sharp tongue, but her mythic Zoan type. She had the tokage-tokage no mi, model: dragon. It was rumored to be an incredible fruit and seeing it in person was as rare as knowing her first name. So why… there. He spotted it. Dangling from her right wrist was a hand cuff. It was unmistakable. A sea stone shackle.

Son of a sea cook, they might as well have gift wrapped her for him. Sea stone shackles rendered her down to the skill of a decent fighter.

He pulled to a quick stop at the edge of a building. She had turned down an alley way and he'd thought to catch her coming out the other side, but it seemed that this particular one had been a dead end. Carefully, Lukas back tracked and it was the sound of a full blown sparring match that guided him back to where she was, cornered in the alley and fighting like a lion. He watched her for a moment; the idea was to let her tire herself out or even take these thugs out for him, but he found himself instead analyzing her fighting style. She was quick with her hands and fairly acrobatic. It wasn't the type of skill she could have acquired from the street; it didn't have the distinct feel of street-smart boxing. And there was no way she could be that good in just the few years that she had been around. She had been trained by a professional. Without knowing her upbringing, there was no way to figure out who, exactly, mentored her.

In a matter of minutes, it became apparent that she was overpowered by the sheer size of them. One clocked her right in the temple and her body language told Lukas that she was hazy at best now. He considered shooting the thugs from the roof with the tranqs he had, but that would give her a chance to escape. So, he hammered down the fire escape and tore around the corner so that he was blocking the alley. The two long barreled hand guns were immediately in his hands, steadily aimed at the assailants as they manhandled the Dragon.

"The party ends here, boys," he said, causing the thugs to snap their heads up. The process of recognition was priceless. First, they sneered at him and then, one by one, they froze and their faces got this lovely shade of pallor and their eyes widened.

"That's… you're… Vice Admiral Knowles!" one of them stuttered out.

"You got it. And that's my catch right there." He stated. He didn't even give them time to breathe before he shot three tranqs out of the gun in his right hand and the thugs went down like a sack of rice.

She stood there, breathing heavily in the alley way. She was littered in cuts and slashes, easily identifiable by the fact that she didn't wear much to begin with. Her dark curls had come loose a little from the bun she wore and her hat dangled around her shoulders. For some reason, the vision struck him as eerily familiar; a blurry face came to mind with freckles and dark hair, dirty and bloody. But he couldn't place it for the life of him.

"Sea stone shackles look good on you, Dragon," he commented, focusing his tranq gun on her, "Come quietly and I won't knock you out like this riff-raff here," he nodded his head at the unconscious bodies on the ground.

Ignoring the dull pain throbbing through much of her body, Rouge lifted her chin defiantly as she stared down a Marine Vice Admiral in the darkened alley. Her hands were relaxed but ready at her sides, and her legs were just slightly bent in preparation for anything. Her quick eyes took in the red feathered tips of tranq darts sticking out from the thick necks of the thugs at her feet, and also took in the absolute steadiness of the marine's hands as he aimed both of his modified, long-barreled guns at her.

Okay, so this was not the _best_ position to be in...She would have rather taken her chances with the thugs.

Rouge tilted her head to the side, gazing at him through the strands of her tousled black hair, and calculated her chances. His hands weren't the only steady thing; his eyes never wavered as he stared her down with as much determination as she felt swirling in her chest. If she hadn't been in such a pickle, she might have found it downright sexy.

Something moved in her periphery. Her stomach tightened with hope, and she slowly, non-threateningly, lifted her open, cuffed hand and grabbed her hat from her shoulders, and replaced it on her head. She used the shadows cast by the brim to flicker her gaze up to the rooftops. It was a brief glance, but all she needed to confirm what she'd suspected.

"Now now...no need to use those on me, Vice Admiral..." Rouge said slowly, drawling his name in a husky voice. "I'll come peacefully. I can see when I'm beaten," she added in a soft voice, the corners of her lips drawing up into a warm, willing smile. As she spoke, she slowly started walking towards him, one boot in front of the other. Her hips swayed slowly, and she kept her hands out and open, illustrating her desire to be compliant.

"I never expected to be taken in by someone like you, ya know." Rouge kept walking, and didn't stop until the tips of his guns brushed against the flaming bikini triangles covering her breasts between the open lapels of her vest. Her hands were up by her head now, completely vulnerable to him. "Especially such a sexy marine as yourself," Rouge's voice was pitched low, almost to a whisper, and her eyes glowed with interest as they flickered from his handsome face down to the broad expanse of his shoulders, then lower, over his muscled chest and lower.

A seductive, heated smile lit up her gaze as she looked back up to his face. "Get's me all... worked up, just thinking about it," she murmured, and the huskiness in her voice was unmistakable. In fact, she didn't even have to fake it. From this close, she could see every hard line of his face, could _feel_ the power that practically radiated off him. It was a heady aphrodisiac to a woman who'd been raised by men of similar power. Even if he _was_ a marine, he was still damn sexy. She let him see the attraction she felt for him, and took another step forward, forcing his guns to slide along her breasts to either side of her torso until she was between them, the cold steel pressed against the warm flesh of her flanks.

He kept his weapons steady, even as she plopped her hat on her head and folded her fingers behind her neck deliberately, making a show that she would "come quietly" as he asked. But there was something fishy about it. There was no fear, no defeat in her eyes, only grim determination.

She wasn't going to come quietly and he really knew it the moment she started walking. Slow steps, placed carefully, one right in front of the other so that her hips swayed seductively. And she opened her mouth and her voice was dark, not necessarily deep, but at least not pitchy like some girls had. He hadn't really had a chance to listen before, because she had been in such a hurry to get away from him that somehow it had made her tone more falsetto. Now it was really quite mellifluous. Smooth. The kinda voice you wanted to hear between the sheets.

If he really had to get right down to it, everything about her screamed sex. Sex and danger. Her voice, the wicked smile, the sinful figure, that 'who gives a shit' attitude. He had a feeling that depending upon the situation, her face was her most deadly tool. The splash of freckles coupled with the bright baby blues and he suspected that she could turn an older man to mush with a cute bat of her thick eyelashes or turn a man her own age to a simpering mess.

Lukas, at the very least, held his ground against her assault. What was her angle? Was she hoping to dare him into letting her go? Calling his bluff, banking that he might not just tranq her and drag her unconscious body to Impel Down? Was she trying to play up the man in him by putting on the seduction act? He wouldn't be a straight man if he denied that that at least wasn't working somewhat.

He didn't move a single muscle, didn't even blink as she came so close to him that she stepped between the barrels of his firearms. The cool steel slid under her vest and along the curve of her breasts until both his hands and the guns were settled right against her ribs. Completely and utterly useless.

If any of his subordinates saw him like this… needless to say, it was a compromising position. Thinking back to this moment, he knew that as soon as she got that close to him, there was no way he was taking her in chains to his ship. He should have anticipated the diversion. As it was, in that time period, she just shocked the hell out of him with her bravado, with her blatant attempt at seduction and from the way her eyes were lighting on different parts of him from his face to his shoulders, down and back up, she liked what she was seeing too.

"What game are you trying to play here, Dragon?" he growled, not moving a single inch. Her body was warm where his hands rested against the flesh of her ribs.

His words drew a throaty chuckle from her, and her eyes danced with amusement and wickedness as she tilted her head back and gazed up at him with parted lips. "Oh, no game, _vice admiral_...this is serious business, my friend."

"You know," she continued, and cocked her hip to the side, but kept her hands up by her neck, exposed to him. "You seem like a pretty cool dude, even if you are a marine..." she murmured, almost absently as her eyes flickered from his serious green eyes down to his lips, drawn in a tight line.

His eyes were riveted to her, studying her, even somewhat suspiciously, but because of that, he didn't see the large rock that came flying down on top of his head until it was too late. The rock was practically the size of a small boulder, and when it struck the direct crown of his head, he stood no chance. She watched his eyes roll into the back of his head, and felt the guns in his hands slide down as gravity overpowered his muscles.

A sigh slipped form her lips and her arms suddenly shot out, catching him under his armpits as she stepped into his suddenly limp form, and kept him from crashing to the ground. She paused, his head lolling back on his neck as she held him against her taunt stomach, her arms straining against his substantial weight.

"Sorry bud, but it's the only way. I really do think your bombing though," she added, and slowly lowered him down to the ground. "Jeez, you're pretty heavy for a guy your size...how much muscles do you _have_?" she muttered in an exaggerated whisper, shaking her head with an amused grin before she took a step back from him. Behind her, she heard the soft thud of her rescuer dropping to the ground form the rooftops above.

"You okay, little Dragon?" a deep, rough voice came from the shadowy alley, and Rouge spun around with a wide grin, plopping her hands on her hips cocking her head to the side, peering up at the large black man before her.

"Teddy!" she exclaimed ruefully, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "I sure am glad you showed up when you did, but I'm fine. Thugs just caught me by surprise with THIS!" she shot her arm out in front of her, exposing the sea stone shackle, the second manacle dangling open two inches from the cuff around her wrist. She grimaced up at him and wrinkled her freckled nose. "It was a pain in the ass, to say the least."

The mans laugh was deep and baritone, making Rouge grin as he stepped closer to her, reached out, and wrapped his two large hands around the cuff. Two veins popped in his thick neck, but it was the only indicator that he was exerting any force until suddenly, the shackle snapped in half with a loud crack. Rouge didn't even jump, but regarded the man with an expression of mixed amusement and gratitude.

"You rock dude. Thanks! Now I can get the hell out of this place...I came much too close to some kind of confinement tonight...Whether it would have been permanent or not is debatable, but it still would have ruined my day. I figured the Bull would send someone to oversee such an important deal...Glad it was you," she tipped her chin at him and half-turned to glanced over her shoulder at the marine. "You can say you got the best of a vice admiral now too."

The man chuckled and shook his head at her, reaching out to knock her hat off and knuckle the top of her head. "You're such a trouble maker. What the hell happened with the deal?"

Rouge let out a mixture between a squeal and a giggle, ducking her head and moving a step away from the towering man. "Stop! It's not my fault, the freaking Don is a _nutcase!_ He wanted to keep me as a 'fine object.' Fuck that...Just because I have a rare devil fruit doesn't mean anyone has the right to keep me on display," she retorted, and replaced her hat on top of her head with an unladylike snort. She rolled her bright blue eyes and cross her arms over her chest.

The black man froze, then regarded her with cold, black glittering eyes. He had eyes as dark as obsidian, and the skin around his eyes, all the way back to his temple, was as dark as night. He was known as the Black-Eyed Smuggler, and specialized in explosives and boxing. "What a stupid man...like we wouldn't notice one of our top agents going missing." He sighed and shook his head again, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes flickered over to the unconscious Marine. "Come one, we gotta scram...people are going to work up the courage to come down here soon."

"Roger," the woman said with a quick salute to her fellow smuggle, then abruptly leapt up into the air. She shifted mid-leap, and caught the air with the sleek dragon wings that suddenly slid out from under her vest. "See you in Port Town for that huge rave Niki was talking about the other day? In three nights?" she called down to him.

"Wouldn't miss it," he called back with a wave, then seemed to melt back into the shadows. After that, she lost sight of him as she turned her head to the sky, and made her escape. She went directly to her boat, hidden in a cove on the far east side of the harbor. Because she wasn't coming from the harbor, she wasn't pursued as she fired up her engine and headed out into the open, dark ocean.

Lukas sat up with a shot, straight up in bed. Immediately, his head throbbed so hard to the beat of his racing heart that he had to lay back down, this time with a groan. He nearly passed out again and it was sheer willpower that he kept himself awake.

"Vice Admiral, sir!" that was Jahzara's voice. Lukas rolled his head over to the side and glanced at her. She was leaning over, right in his vision, but as soon as he made eye contact with her, she backed away and saluted him briefly.

"Whaa…?" he started, his eyes sweeping the room. He was in his room, not his office, but literally his bedroom on his ship and judging by the feel of the motion, they had set sail. He sat up again, this time more gingerly and laid his hand against his head. A lump greeted him the size of an orange on the side of his head with a bandage over it.

His captain, loyal as ever, was right there, pulling up a chair and perching right on the very edge of it, reminiscent of a bird about to take flight, "Vice Admiral, sir, we found you unconscious in a back alley with three of Don Maccello's men, also unconscious. They stirred before you did, however, sir and we were able to question them about the situation. We are currently in pursuit of the Dragon Smuggler."

He took a minute to process that. The thugs… he chased them and her into the alley and after tranquilizing them, he had been all lined up to catch the Dragon, but she had distracted him…

"That bitch!" he cursed, causing Jahzara to jump a little and his head to pound, "How long was I out?"

"It's been just over a day, sir. It's the middle of the night."

He gave her a good look and she seemed exhausted. No doubt she had been up all night, watching his bedside like a hawk and managing his subordinates for him, "Right. Go get some sleep, Jahzara."

"But sir…"

"That's an order, Captain."

She swallowed her protests and nodded, "Yes, sir!" she said, getting up, offering him a quick salute and left his room.

Lukas sighed and gently rotated his neck, wincing. Damn it! She'd gotten the best of him. He would be more vigilant next time. He wouldn't be as distracted by her sex appeal. Slowly, he managed to swing his long legs out of the bed and made his way to his office. There, behind his desk, was her pretty little face, staring at him, mocking him.

Bitch! He was gonna get her. He touched the top of his head again and winced.

Two days later, he was feeling significantly better and his ship docked at an island called Port Town. It was a huge island, literally separated into sections; the pier, the Marine station, the business district, the Red Light District, the residential district. It was more or less an island to stop to stretch the sea legs. When travelling with a hundred soldiers, things tended to get restless.

They had had no clues on the whereabouts of the Dragon since his accident with her. She had disappeared yet again, slipped through his fingers like the little lizard she was.

He sat in his office, feet proper up on the desk, his usual position when there was a knock on his door and Jahzara came in.

"Vice Admiral, sir," she greeted, not taking one step into the office.

"Captain," he replied with a nod, twirling a pen in his fingers and staring at the Dragon's picture. That woman… "What can I do for you?"

"Sir, there has been a report that there are a lot of pirate ships coming into the harbor near the Red Light District. I thought you might like to take a look around. Perhaps… it's a stretch, sir but the district here is supposedly a draw for all sorts of criminals and the Dragon might just show up here. At least a lead, sir?"

He turned his chair to regard his Captain. Her blonde hair was short in the back and long in the front, the longest pieces coming right to her chin, but most of it was tucked under a Marine cap. Her gun-metal gray eyes were sharp as her wit and alert. He had made sure that despite her rank, she had a coat like his, minus the golden caps on the shoulders and she was dressed sharp underneath in a red skirt suit. He kept her around because appearance was very youthful and yet she was capable and he found her relatable in that way.

"That's a good idea, Captain," he said, rising from his chair.

"Sir, shall I accompany you as back up?"

"No, thank you, Jahzara. I'm going this alone," he had a strange feeling now, since she mentioned the Red Light District. So preoccupied as he was and with his back turn, he missed the slight stutter in Jahzara's impeccable sense of duty and the flush across her cheeks when he said her name but as soon as he turned to face her, she had pulled herself back together again.

"Take care out there, sir. You are heading into outlaw land. 99 percent of them want you dead."

He grinned, "I wager more than that."

The rave, featuring the famous DJ PurplePirate, was to be held in the bowels of the Red Light District of Port Town. The raves that DJ PurplePirate put on were particularly popular, and tended to attract outlaws of all kinds, along with civilians who didn't mean rubbing shoulders with the most dangerous men and women of the underworld.

Rouge was particularly looking forward to this rave as she had missed the last two that had been put on. In the three days between her last business deal and the rave, she got word to the Bull about what had gone down with the Don, and was still awaiting a reply the night of the rave. Two other members of the Inner Circle had shown up for the rave, those who weren't on active assignment, along with other members of the Bull's organization that were part of the lower echelon of workers he controlled.

Since smugglers were famous for their ability to remain unknown, they had devised a way to let each other know of their presence for these sort of functions, since many of the smugglers were very fond partying and liked to mingle whenever they could, since most of the time they were kept apart on assignments.

In the three days that she had to recover and prepare for the rave, Rouge found her thoughts lingering on that vice admiral from before. Though she'd only known him briefly, she was intensely _interested_ in the guy. He was attractive, yes, but something about his persona just intrigued her. He'd tried to save her twice so far, even if she hadn't needed it the first time. He could have tranqed her along with the thugs, but he hadn't. He'd given her the choice to go quietly. What did that say about him? Even though she had no business getting friendly with a marine, especially a vice admiral, she _wanted_ to know more about him. Odd really.

A couple of hours before the rave, Rouge met up with those members she was particularly close with, and went out to the local bars for some drinks. Teddy was there, along with Rouge's close girlfriend, Niki, who was also one of the Inner Circle. They spent hours moving from bar to bar, singing, drinking, and sharing stories of their latest exploits. Rouge's story with the Don had caused an uproar of both indignation and laughter, but the cuts and bruises were already fading so Rouge shrugged it off and joined in with the laughter. She'd been in worse situations, after all, and if you couldn't laugh about life then what was the point?

They got drunk, but Rouge had been sneaking drinks with her uncle Zoro since she was fifteen, so she knew how to handle her liquor. While Teddy got sloshed and Niki started getting giggly, Rouge just grinned like a madwoman, her eyes glittering with mischief and fun as they told jokes and took shots at one another.

When it was half past midnight, Rouge suggested they head over to the rave, and was met with a loud and rambunctious agreement from her party pals. Laughing, Niki slug her arm over Rouge's shoulders and together the girls lead the rest of their party to the secret location. Those who had been to PurplePirates previous raves received the secret location by carrier pigeon the night before the actual even, and all were allowed to bring one guest. That guest was then registered for future raves so long as no trouble was caused and their background was cleared. The DJs bouncers and managers were quite thorough and quite capable of handling most of the outlaws that attended the events.

As they approached the door, hidden down a side alley, Rouge could hear the muffled music through the walls, and felt a smile curve her lips as excitement danced in her stomach. She LOVED dancing, and took every chance she could to let loose. This evening, her regular flaming bikini had been switched out for a neon green-blue one covered in glittering sequins; it brought out an aquamarine tinge to her eyes, ringed in black kohl and dusted with blue and green eye-shadow. Her black shorts were replaced with a low-slung leather skirt, and the blue vest she normally wore was nowhere in sight. Its absence exposed the dragon tattoo that curled up her spine and across her shoulders with its delicate wings. Her hair was down, for once, and features blue and green feathers throughout. According to Niki, she was SMOKIN', and that was exactly what Rouge had been aiming for.

"You ready for this, sexy lady?" Rouge asked with a giggle as they waltzed past the bouncers, who nodded their recognition.

"Oh, I'm more than ready for this. Be prepared to have your ass kicked by my awesome dancing skills," Niki responded, and the red-head winked her bright green eye with a saucy grin on her luscious red lips. She sashayed her hips, covered in a short black dress that slinked off her shoulders in spaghetti straps and shimmered with sequins.

"Dream on," Rouge retorted and stepped through the door to the dance floor. They were instantly assaulted by music so loud that Rouge could feel the pressure of it against her eardrums. The beat was amazing, just like all of DJ PurplePirate's music, and Rouge found it difficult to hold herself still as they headed for the center, where the dancing was the thickest. The air was heavy with white smoke and flashing, neon lights, illuminating the darkness and giving everything an erie, unreal feeling. The lights made her blue-green clothing and makeup practically glow and scintillate as she moved.

"Hell yeah...time to get our groove on!" Niki shouted over the music, and started to dance with her head tossed back and a huge smile on her lips. Rouge laughed and turned around to poke Teddy in the chest. The man perked a brow at her, and she rolled her eyes at his seriousness before she joined Niki and began to swing her hips to the beat. The man chuckled at them, then began head bang to the music.

When one is walking alone through the seedier, lawless parts of town, one needs to dress in such a way as to communicate strength, power and confidence. So that evening, when Lukas ventured out, solo, to the Lawless District in pursuit of some lead on the Dragon, he wasn't garbed out in his Marine getup. No, that would have been a poor decision and the outlaws would have been on him like stink on shit.

He was dressed more casual, yet something that said 'I'm a bad ass, don't fuck with me or I will fuck you up'; a blue collared button down, unbuttoned with the sleeves folded up to his elbows. It displayed his whole torso, which was fine by him considering that he was pretty proud of his physique, but it also showed many of the various scars he'd received over his lifetime. All of them were fine white lines now. Some were from scuffles with bad guys, but a good amount was from the stupid shit he'd done as a kid.

He had a small one just above his collarbone where a fish hook had snagged him and in a drunken moment, he'd just yanked it out. Blood had gone everywhere from that one.

Another one on his hip from falling down the stairs. That was it. End of that story.

One on his ribs. Sword fight with a pirate. Hadn't ended pretty for the pirate.

On his legs he had on a pair of black pants, tucked into his black combat boots. Around his hips was a black belt with two gun holsters on either side. That was it. No sword or anything fancy like a shoulder holster. He was more undercover, less recon.

It was late by the time he was ready to head through the District. He'd been to some sordid towns before, but tonight may have just been the icing on the cake for him. Whatever was going on here tonight was drawing the criminals like piranhas. Pirates, outlaws, smugglers, thieves, you name it and they were there were out in the streets. Shady deals went down in alleyways, seemingly empty warehouses vibrated on their foundations with bass and the bars and restaurants were overflowing with bodies, sex, smoke and fighting. Lukas saw bad guys he knew other marines were out hunting at this very moment, but he couldn't bag and tag them. He couldn't risk his cover by nabbing every person with a bounty that he saw.

The district only seemed to get more and more congested as the night wore on. He flitted in and out of bars and clubs, casually listening to conversations, drinking enough to appear as though he was in certain locations to enjoy drinks. Mentally, he kept a running list of things that would be interesting to report back, but nothing on the Dragon or the smuggling ring. A few girls came up to him – alright, more than a few – but he always managed to brush them off by the time he was ready to leave a place. His story changed every time he spoke to someone; sometimes he was a smuggler, the captain of a pirate ship, a klepto, a black market merchant, an arms dealer. Anything really. That was the beauty of undercover; he could be anyone he wanted to be for the night. And he was damned good at selling it.

It was on the way to another bar or somewhere when he spotted her. His insides jumped wildly in excitement. He hadn't expected to actually _find_ her. He'd hoped for information at best, but there was no mistaking the downright sexy beauty as she turned into an alleyway, arm and arm with some spunky red head and a large, beastly man trailing behind the group a little. He hadn't gotten a great look at her other than a shimmer of sequins and the loads of dark curls playing peek-a-boo with a large, intricate and finely detailed dragon tattoo on her back before she disappeared around the corner. No one else could fit that description.

Lukas kept a steady pace and when he turned the alleyway, he quickly turned tail and went back around the corner to peer. There she was, laughing and chatting as she and her entourage waltzed passed two _huge_ bouncers. He was much closer to her now and as she passed under the emergency light that beamed down above the door, he really caught an eyeful of her. Her hair was tousled and green and blue feathers were clipped in among the strands, giving her a wholly wild and exotic look about her. Her eyes were lined in kohl and he imagined that that made the blue of them stand out bright and bold. And she switched out her little shortie shorts for a tight, equally short black leather skirt.

She was, well. She was hot, for a criminal. _Scandalous_ , even.

There was no way he was getting into that place without knowing the bouncers. It looked like it was a "members only" kinda party and well, he wasn't a member. The trained recon in him knew instantly that if he wanted her in shackles, he was going to have to break into the club and somehow follow her out. No way was he going to be able to dog this place until she left. There was no guarantee she would leave through the door she went in. No, he was going to have to follow her right into the lion's den if he wanted the job done right.

The door wasn't an option. Lukas went down to the next alley and sought the roof of the building behind the warehouse. He needed a window or an access door…

There! It was blacked out with paint, but that was a window. There was a small ledge about three feet wide underneath it. A run, a jump and he landed on the roof of the warehouse and it was some careful climbing that got him down to that ledge. The ledge of lined with windows, spaced about seven feet apart. The window was just high enough that he could slip through it.

Naturally, it was locked from the inside. Lukas pulled off his shirt, wrapped his fist in it and smashed one of the panels open. He waited a heartbeat, his gun in his hand, pointing it in the ragged gap he'd made. Nothing happened. The music was so loud that he wasn't expecting anything to happen.

He reached in, clicked the lock and popped the window open. He was in the rafters, which was fortunate. Holstering his gun and swinging his shirt back over his shoulders, he climbed across the rafters and beams until he reached the ladder that brought him down to ground level. Below him, bodies clustered together, hot, steamy, smelling like sex, sweat and alcohol. The DJ was playing in the corner, the music so loud the bass was vibrating his ribcage. A bar had been constructed along one wall, packed with bodies and scantily dressed men and women serving beverages that smoked, that glowed, big, small, whatever. In the middle of the floor were cages where half naked females were dancing and more lining up to get a turn. A catwalk fifteen feet above the crowd hoisted a myriad of gyrating bodies and poles where more girls were dancing and swaying.

Lukas decided that on a given day, this was probably not the type of place he'd like to be. The music and dancing were okay, but pure virile energy pumping through this place mixed with the overload of dangerous people was putting him on edge. Any second, he expected someone to recognize him and for the whole mob to jump on him like white on rice. A Vice Admiral in a place like this? 110 percent of this population wanted his head on a stake.

But no one would recognize him; he wouldn't ever be expected in a rave like this and without his military garb, he could be anyone.

The ladder brought him backstage where some people were dancing and strutting their stuff and he disappeared again down a short flight of stairs and slipped out a door onto the main dance floor. It was one hundred times warmer down here and way more congested than he had estimated from his position above in the rafters. Bodies pushed together in a dancing, sensuous orgy and the low, flashing light hurt his eyes to try and make out individual faces.

But he seemed to be drawn to her silhouette like a moth to flame because in a matter of seconds, he picked her out of the crowd. She was in the very middle of the floor where the dancing was thickest, in the middle of a suffocating crowd of bodies and she seemed to be having the time of her life. Her slender, smuggling hands traced the curves of her body and lifted the heavy curls off her neck before she laughed and circled her hips to the beat. A fine glisten of perspiration shone over the swell of her breasts and along her lithe stomach.

Lukas kept to the edges of the crowd, keeping a low profile and moving around the outside of the dancers, keeping an eye on her. No way would she pick him out of this crowd, but he would watch her like a hawk and as soon as she left, he'd nab her.

27


	2. Chapter 2

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

The pumping music was like a second heartbeat to her, making her blood pound and her adrenaline soar. Rouge gyrated her hips, tossed her hair, and weaved her arms up in the air with the best of them, often body to body from the sheer crowdedness of the popular rave. As the night progressed, Niki and Rouge gravitated towards the poles, set up on a raised platform shaped like a star, with one pole at each point. Grinning wickedly at each other, they sprung their move and leapt up onto the platform with the agility born from many years of jumping over fences and walls.

Niki and Rouge were well known at the raves because of their dancing skills and the pure boldness their movements bespoke. Both girls shared the mentality of live life to the fullest, because you never knew when you were gonna get caught or killed in their line of work. They weren't shy, and didn't even bother to wait for the current girls to move off of the two adjacent poles before they started busting a move. As people recognized them, a roar of approval went up in the vicinity, and Rouge let out a laugh, winking at a few of her friends as the chick on the pole nearest her graciously relinquished her spot. It didn't take much for the girl ahead of Niki to step down either; the red-head practically pushed the woman off the stage.

This is where Rouge thrived: in the spotlight, with music thumping loud and people she knew and loved surrounding her and screaming her name. They demanded a show, and she sure as hell wasn't going to disappoint them. With a saucy grin and a swish of her hips, Rouge wrapped her fingers around the pole and let herself fall forward, swinging around the pole as her arm was stretched taunt, and suspended her body above the crowd for a split second before she came back around and leapt up, hooking her legs around the metal and used the momentum to send herself spinning. She released the pole with her hands, and let her torso arch backwards as she threw her arms above her head and leaned her head back. The action made the muscles in her stomach standout as she shimmied her shoulders and arms sensuously, and her masses of hair swung wildly with each toss of her head. The screams of delight that rose up from the nearby dancers brought a huge grin to her lips. In particular, she could hear Teddy's earsplitting whistle.

As she lost momentum, she let her legs drop down to the platform with her feet on either side of the pole and reclaimed it with her hands. She found herself facing Niki, both girls in almost identical poses.

It was painfully obvious that this wasn't the first time they'd pole-danced in tandem.

They blew a kiss at each other, then began to dance in earnest, swishing their hips, shimmying their shoulders, arms raised above their heads, and with the pole, at different times, between their legs, against their asses, or between their breasts.

Up on the platform, above the show-smoke and writhing bodies, Rouge was able to see something she might otherwise have missed. Even up here, the only reason she noticed him was because he was watching her, intently. He might have been dressed down, and he certainly blended in with his clothing, but his eyes were those of a predators, and screamed with an intensity native to Marines in particular.

Vice Admiral Knowles.

She hadn't been sure at first, _because_ of his attire. His open shirt and black fatigues were downright sinful on his hard-as rock body. She could see the ridges of his pecs and abs from the center of the room, for sea's sake. But then, she had dragon eyes, and they were almost as keen as a hawk's. Those eyes of his were unmistakable, and she'd spent waaaaay too much time thinking about the hard line of his mouth and his jaw not to recognize him. Even if he blended in and even kept himself moving, his expression lacked the carefree laughter and wickedness that illuminated most of the faces of the people here.

At first, she'd felt a sense of panic, but it was momentary, especially when she realized that he couldn't touch her here. He may be powerful, but he was up against hundreds of outlaws if he caused a scene at all, and many of the outlaws here were strong. He wasn't dumb, from what she'd gathered, and he probably already knew that. He'd have to get her alone. Perhaps it was for this reason that he hadn't approached her yet. Did he plan on waiting for her to leave, then pick her off from the streets?

 _Dream on, bucko,_ she thought with an inward grin.

After fifteen minutes on the pole, Rouge took one last spin, and used the momentum to send her sliding across the platform, and into the oscillating crowd of people. Even if she hadn't spotted the marine, she'd been about to get down as it is. She was no show-hog. She enjoyed her time in the light, but enjoyed it just as much in the crowd.

As soon as she was back in the crowd, she searched out both Teddy and Niki with her eyes, the later of which had also relinquished her position on the pole in favor of a dark-clad pirate, and gave them a gesture that told them not to leave, to keep an eye on her if they could, and that she was up to no good. Teddy scowled at her, but didn't stop dancing with the little brunette he'd snared, and Niki shot her a grin of delight, waving her pale hand in the air and turning back to her man.

Then, Rouge disappeared.

She was good at disappearing, being a trained thief and smuggler, and it was especially easy in a dark, crowded warehouse. She carefully and slowly made her way towards the marine in a wide circle, working her way to his left side. She watched him, when she could, and knew he'd lost sight of her from the way his eyes darted about furiously. He was good though; he kept his body and features relaxed, but she could see the sudden urgency in his gaze as he swept the room in search of his missing target.

She hid a grin behind her hand, and ducked down to weave her way through the crowd more quickly now, keeping to the fringe, until she'd managed to sneak up behind and to the left of him. What she was about to do was probably the dumbest thing she'd ever done in her life. Provoking a vice admiral, no matter if she had the advantage, was never recommended for a criminal like herself. But she was strangely fascinated by this one in particular. Something about him was alluring, provocative, and wholly sexy. Part of it likely had to do with the fact that he was forbidden to an outlaw like herself.

But that didn't mean she couldn't have her fun.

The last few yards between them, Rouge resumed her dancing, because bulls-eyeing anyone was the surest way to get attention drawn to her. So she slowly made her way up until she was directly behind him, and before she could stop herself and consider the consequences, Rouge made her move. Still dancing, with her hips rotating and swishing in tune to the beat, she stepped up to him until their bodies were almost flush, her front to his back, and slid her hands under his open shirt and around his torso. It was a commonplace move for a chick to initiate dancing with a particular guy, but she wasn't stupid, so her right hand slid straight up, over his abs and chest, until she could hold the small dagger previously concealed against the base of his neck. The sharp but small weapon was hidden by her fingers, but she was more than confident he would be able to feel the bite.

"Don't move, Vice Admiral Lukas Knowles...we both know your severely outnumbered here," she whispered by his ear the moment she had her arms around him. Amusement tinged her voice, along with the huskiness that came from dancing so long. "I know you've been watching me...but that's no fun at all. So since _I_ am not inclined to do anything about you, and _you_ can't do shit about me so long as I'm surrounded by my buddies, how about we get to know each other a little better, alright cupcake? You intrigue me, and I dearly love to dance..."

As she spoke, she continued her slow, sensuous slide of her body against his back, grinning wickedly with delight and mischief glowing in her eyes. Despite her playful tone, she kept her legs bent and her feet braced in a shoulder-wide stance should she need to make a quick escape. If he behaved, she'd remove the dagger from his throat, if he didn't, she'd raise the alarm like a banshee and let the chaos provide her with her escape.

He'd lost her.

He had been watching her like a predator watches prey – not far from the truth – and when she'd gotten up on the poles like that, he'd been shocked, to say the least. There was no denying that she was sexy as hell and that might have stemmed from the fact that she was an outlaw and he a Marine and there was always an amplified attraction in what you couldn't have. That was why the smuggling business boomed. When she'd wrapped her body around the poles like a professional and the crowd roared its approval, a tingle had shot through his heart and lit up his blood stream.

He tried to be dispassionate about the whole thing, about her, about this rave and he was quite good at distancing himself like that, but he was drawn to her like she was opposite charge of his magnet.

Then she had disappeared like smoke. Where'd she go? Keeping his body relaxed, his eyes darted the room, seeking that shimmer of material, the swish of dark curls, a blue-green feather. Had she seen him, up there on that pole? He couldn't be certain; there were hundreds of people here she knew. She could have made eye contact with any of them in his vicinity.

His mind couldn't tell, but he knew from the way his heart had jumped right into his throat that she had seen him. Shit. Had she split? No, he could still feel her here…

Suddenly, there was someone behind him and he sensed it the moment before it happened and he knew it was her. His spine straightened as her slender, thieving hands slid right up his torso and he squelched the shiver at the skin-to-skin contact.

And there it was. The bite of a knife against the base of his throat. He almost smiled; as it was, he relaxed as she laid her intentions right out for him. No secrets with her. And he'd come so such conclusions himself already.

Slowly, he spun in her arms so he could face her, her hand delicately laid against his chest, disguising that little knife. Up close in the darkened light, she was a wicked seductress, like a dark, naughty angel. Two could play at this power game and Devil Fruit aside, his physical strength outweighed hers.

Part of the requirement of becoming a Vice Admiral is an affinity to at least one type of Haki. He was fortunate; he had two. One, known as Kenbunshoku Haki, sensed the presence of others and could even predict the movements of certain attacks. That one was standard usually with most Vice Admirals. However, he also had the gift of the second one; Busoshoku Haki, which was fighting spirit. He could either force it out and create an invisible shield around himself or imbed Haki into weapons or parts of his own body he used for attack. And it negated the effects of Devil Fruits.

This latter one he applied now as he reached up and wrapped his hand around hers. The knife, deadly sharp, bit into his skin a little but it was a price he was willing to pay just to see the way her eyes dilated as the Haki hit her like being touched with a sea stone. Your move, Dragon.

"Here's how I see it," he told her, leaning down to speak right in her ear to be heard amidst the loud music, "'Keep your friends close, enemies closer'. I'm no fool, Dragon. I'm not causing a scene here." He forcibly removed the knife from his throat.

He turned in her arms, and she abruptly stopped the sinuous slide of her hips. The pressure he exerted on her hand wasn't enough to seriously hurt, but it was enough to make her clench her teeth and narrow her eyes at him. Boy, he just kept getting more and more interesting. He didn't just roll over and take it, but gave as much as he got. She liked that. She held herself perfectly still as he leaned his head down to speak in her ear, and didn't resist when he removed her hand from his throat.

"What a tough guy you are..." Rouge purred in response, a coy smile curling her lips as she pulled her hand back. The knife vanished from her fingers, once more concealed on her person. "I think I'm going to enjoy this game of cat and mouse you and I are about to embark on," she added, her eyes glittering with anticipation as she tilted her head back to look up at him.

"But just remember, marine..." Rouge slowly, deliberately, braced her hands against his bare chest and leaned in and tilted her head to the side. With slow relish, she licked up the drop of blood that rose from the small nick he'd inflicted on himself, then pulled back with taunting heat simmering in her gaze. Licking her lips, she withdrew her hands from his person and murmured, "Dragons are a lot harder to catch than mice."

Suddenly, Niki was there at her side, her green eyes hard despite the jovial smile on her lips. "Who's your friend here, Rouge?" the girl asked, sliding her arm through Rouge's and cocking her hip to the side as she regarded the vice admiral in front of her. Rouge suppressed a rueful grin, and flickered her gaze up and around to see that Teddy was nearby, looking preoccupied but she knew his attention as focused solely on them. How she loved her friends; they were so perceptive and protective.

"Just some hunk I took a liking to, love. Meet Lukas," Rouge introduced, looking up at him with a wink and a grin. She could blow his cover, but that would be no fun either. After a moment of regarding him with barely concealed suspicion, Niki suddenly thrust her hand out in greeting and offered him a smile.

"Nice to meet you, _Lukas_ ," she said, emphasizing his name. "You take good care of my girl here, you got me?" Her voice was sweet, but the underlying threat was there. Rouge rolled her eyes, knowing she'd have to spill her guts later, and she also knew that once her friend found out she'd been talking to a vice admiral, she'd get a lecture on being careless. Like she always did when she did something decidedly stupid. As for Teddy...well, it's a good thing Rouge had thick skin.

Though she would love nothing more than to continue this game with the marine, this was the perfect opportunity to make her escape. She'd taken enough risks this evening as it was. "Actually babe, I think I'm ready to get another drink. I'll come with you," Rouge interjected. Niki grinned in agreement and tugged her away, but Rouge paused, turning her face up to the marine once more.

"I'm looking forward to our next meeting, handsome." She reached out and dragged a finger down his cheek then lightly chucked his chin, her eyes shining with wicked amusement. "See ya."

Then, just like that, Niki and her disappeared into the crowd.

Lukas sat in his office the following morning, slumped over his desk, twirling a pen in his fingers and staring at the Dragon's wanted poster. It was still early in the morning and because they were still at port, he was one of very few people on his ship. But he needed the quiet. As soon as he had woken up, he'd dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and a button down, opened. He had nowhere to be for the next couple of hours; he could stand to dress his own damned age. And he'd gone straight down to his office.

The rest of his night had been interesting, so to speak. He made the executive decision not to stay too long after the Dragon had left his side. He'd watched her though, studied her interactions with her peers. She was wild, carefree and capable of more destruction than he thought she knew. More men watched her than she had to be aware of, yet very few approached her. He could smell the fear, the intimidation they felt towards her. He'd wondered about it. Were they afraid of her, or something else? Lukas certainly did not fear her, nor was he the least bit intimidated by her strength. Perhaps they feared her line of dangerous work, or her boss, the Black Bull. Her devil fruit was rather impressive so maybe it was her reputation that prevented them from approaching her too closely.

Then again, if the fairer sex had an overwhelming sex appeal, that in itself could be daunting. And she certainly had oodles of that.

He realized he was tracing his pen over and over the circle he'd drawn around her face and stopped for a minute. A grin lit his face and he shook his head. She'd been so bold last night, like she was baiting him. For hell's sake, she'd _licked_ him. It was hot. She'd been deliberating trying to fuck with him.

Part of him didn't know what to think of her. She was so bizarre. She didn't run in fear of him; almost as if she was confident enough in her ability to keep thwarting his attempts to catch her. Not only did she not run from him, she made an effort to get _close_ to him.

 _Keep your friends close, enemies closer._

He'd said that to her, hadn't he? Wasn't it the very truth though? If he kept interacting with her, kept learning more and more about her, he could start to get in her head. Once you got into your enemy's head and started to think like them, you could predict their movements, catch them easier.

Lukas looked at her poster again and that wicked smirk on her face. He clicked his pen and wrote one word on the poster: Rouge. Rouge the Dragon Smuggler. It was an uncommon name; he'd only heard it a few times in his life. Rouge: red. Red like apples, like sin, like lipstick, like heat, like fire…

Fire. Freckles. Hat. Outlaw. Rouge. It was there again, that feeling like something was right on the tip of his tongue, like maybe she looked like or acted like someone he knew. Preoccupied, Lukas wrote these things down on the poster too, under her name, mixing with the font on the page; _fire, freckles, hat, outlaw_ _…_

He threw the pen down on the desk and leaned his head back over the back of the chair and propped his boots up on the desk top. He was tired, having spent much of the night out and when he did try to get some sleep, he was restless. She unnerved him. No one unnerved him. He was unnerve-able. He was torn between hating her and interested in her. Where had she come from? Who were her parents? What was her life like before smuggling? Why smuggling, even? He found that he was asking these types of questions in his head when he'd never stopped to ask them about outlaws before. Outlaws were riffraff, criminals who were brought to justice because they had committed any range of foul, illegal behavior. They made bad choices.

Rouge the Dragon Smuggler was making bad choices. Did that make her a bad person? He didn't know. He hated encountering criminals like that, criminals like the Straw Hats who did bad things, never wanted to be heroes and yet, left behind swathes of bad guys for the Marines to clean up, saved communities and ended injustice when they saw it. Was that not what the Marines stood for everyday?

Lukas rubbed his eyes. He was tired, that was all. He was tired and because he was tired he had these crazy thoughts. No, bad choices had to be punished, no matter the intent. He flexed his hands and the white scars appeared bold against his flesh. He had been punished for his choices, even though it was to save his starving little family. It didn't matter why pirates killed, raped and pillaged. It didn't matter that they beat each other up and spared the world one less bad guy every time they did it. Every choice has a consequence and it was his job, his life, to follow through with those consequences.

The next morning, Rouge was scheduled to push off in order to pick up her next package for delivery at a nearby island. She would also be meeting up with the Bull and the rest of the Inner Circle for an update on business as well as to plan the demise of Don. No one touched one of the Bull's Inner Circle and got away with it. Rouge was particularly looking forward to those plans.

As she readied her ship for departure in the early morning, Rouge noticed that the Vice Admiral's ship was still in port. She expected nothing less, if he was hunting her, but as she secured her rigging, she couldn't help but find her eyes drawn again and again to the ship. The idea of sailing away, no way to know how long it would be before he caught up with her again, _if_ he ever did, was disappointing for some reason. She wrestled with herself for another twenty minutes as she finished her preparations and stored the rest of her provisions, and then finally caved.

Once a trouble seeker, always a trouble seeker.

Grinning ruefully at herself, Rouge started up her engine and slowly maneuvered herself out of the small inlet at the side of the harbor. In the stillness of the morning, only the sounds of the gulls and the gentle purr of her engine interrupted the peace. As she got closer to the marine vessel, she pulled out her binoculars and peered through them.

The deck of the ship was empty. She tilted her head back and followed the line of the mast up until she found the crows nest. One marine was stationed there, but she could clearly see that the man's head was bobbing on the edge of sleep. She grinned, and stowed her binoculars. Honestly, he was making it too easy for her. It's not like he was expecting her, though, because what kind of idiot criminal willingly walked onto a marine ship? Apparently, she was that kind of idiot. But she thrived on this kind of danger. She always had. Since her childhood, she'd grown up on a sheltered, boring island, constantly regaled with stories of the adventures her father and the Straw Hats had gone on. She'd wanted nothing more than to have been a part of them. She shared her uncle Luffy's belief that you only lived once, so you might as well live to the fullest.

Moving slowly and carefully, keeping an eye on the marine in the crowsnest and on the deck in case someone made an appearance, she maneuvered her ship up to the side of the marine vessel. Once she was close enough, she turned off her engine and drifted the rest of the way. Her own ship was so small in comparison that she completely disappeared below the side of the ship once she was up next to it. While it kept her ship out of their view, it also meant that she would have to go up blind, without knowing if someone was on deck.

More risks, more excitement. She wasn't overly worried because her ship was much faster than his, especially if she used the excellent that her Uncle Franky had installed. If she was discovered, she could take flight, board her ship, and jet off before they even had their ship ready to sail. Once her ship was stable, Rouge hurried into her cabin and drew out a sheet of paper and a pen. She wasn't stupid enough to go hunting through a marine vessel for the vice admiral, but she wanted to leave him _something_. A taunting note to let him know that she had the balls to tread on his territory was more than satisfactory for her. She grinned, and signed as "your Dragon." What compelled her to use the word "your," she didn't know, but considering the cat-and-mouse game she'd initiated, it felt right.

Grinning at her own recklessness, with Niki and Teddy's lecture fresh in her ears, Rouge plopped her hat on her head and climbed up onto the top of her ship's cabin. She spent a moment in silence, peering up at the edge of the deck as she listened, hard, for any signs of marines. When only silence met her ears, she nodded with satisfaction, and shifted. Sleek dragon wings unfurled from her back and beat the air once before she leaped up. It was a matter of seconds for her to clear the railing and drop down onto the deck. Her boots didn't make a sound as she headed for the central door facing deck. While there was no guarantee, because every vice admiral ran their ship differently, there was a pretty good chance that this door would lead to the vice admiral's office. That was where her great grandfather's office was located on _his_ ship, and he'd been a vice admiral before he'd resigned from the Marines.

As she got closer, she saw that the door was cracked open, and slowed her steps. The sane, safe side of her told her to abandon ship, but the demon in her urged her forward. With only a moment of hesitation, Rouge pushed open the door, and stepped into the doorway. Her eyes took only a second to adjust to the lower light of the small room, but she sensed him even before she saw him. He was bent over his desk, and a thrill of savage satisfaction went through her to see that he was bent over _her_ wanted poster.

"Admiring something? Gets my panties in a twist to see how much time you're devoting to me, so very sweet of you," Rouge murmured with a wicked grin on her face as she casually cross her arms over her chest and leaned against the door frame. This was even BETTER than she'd been hoping for. She wasn't taking one more step closer to him, no, but this was much more enjoyable than leaving a silly note.

He was knee-deep in some paper work when his office door gently swung open. He needed something to distract him from the Dragon Smuggler and paper was mundane and boring.

Lukas didn't look up immediately when someone took a single step into the office. He should have realized something was amiss in that moment because all of his subordinates would have greeted him first. But because he was tired and preoccupied and still recovering from his concussion a little, when he looked up, his eyebrows rose to find the person he least expected to be standing there.

Rouge, the Dragon.

His heart skipped a beat to see her there, she surprised him so.

She was back in her shorts, vest and bikini top with the Stetson on the top of her unruly mane of dark curls. The light in the office was probably the best in all the times he'd encountered her since he started this endeavor in capturing her. Sure, she photographed well, but there was nothing like seeing the real thing. Purposely, he dragged his eyes over her. That wicked grin, the freckles… he flickered his eyes to her poster where he'd made his notes. _Red, fire, freckles, hat, outlaw_ _…_ again with the feeling that something about her was right on the tip of his tongue.

He cocked his head to the side and sat back, sliding her poster to the side of his desk, "Only because you interest me, nothing further," he replied smoothly. He folded his hands behind his head, "What can I do for you this morning? Must be important enough for you to dare a Marine ship alone."

Her grin turned even more bold at his words and she let out a laugh, reaching up to knock her hat off her head until it dangled across her shoulders. Unlike before, today she wore a pair of black leather gloves that had the fingers and thumbs cut off, with the image of a flame embossed into it on one and a swirling ball of water on the other. As she spoke, she caught up the silken masses of her hair and secured it into a messy bun at the top of her head. "You're in denial, marine, if you think this game stops at that such a...clinical... word like 'interest.' Where are your balls, man? At least I can admit when I see something tasty," Rouge's voice turned a little throaty, mostly because she enjoyed getting any rise out of him that she could, as her eyes purposefully flickered over his figure. "You look good dressed like a civilian...I'm really digging this open shirt thing. You have such a delectable chest, after all." She winked and turned in the doorframe until her back was pressed against the wood and she could cock up her knee with her boot braced against the frame. She tilted her head back and to the side to regard him between the unruly strands of her hair that had already fallen free of her bun and hung around her face in loose curls. Though it appeared like all of her attention was focused in on the office, she had an ear out for the deck too. She wasn't about to be caught this fine morning. Not when she was having so much fun.

"As for why I'm here...well, _everything_ I do is important, Lukas. Can I call you Lukas? Good," she nodded, not even waiting for his answer and looked away from him, perusing his office with her sharp eyes as she hooked her thumbs into the belt-loops of her shorts. The action forced the already-low-slung shorts to ride even lower, and a little pink g-string throng peeked from under the black denim.

"In truth, I'm about to escape you again, and I really couldn't part without one more goodbye...I did sorta leave you hanging last night, after I basically promised to dance with you and all too," she added with a sassy smile and wrinkled her nose as her gaze, finished perusing the many wanted posters that he used for decoration, returned to his face. Though her expression didn't show it, she'd taken interest and noted the fact that he had all of the Inner Circle's Wanted posters up except for the two agents who had never been photographed. She would have to report that at the upcoming meeting. "Don't worry though," she added, "If you're willing to have another ceasefire at the next rave, I promise to make up for it. You'd have a good time, I'd stake my life on it."

Though she appeared relaxed, her muscles were quivering with anticipation. She'd been on the ship far longer than she wanted to be already, but she was ready to spring at a moments notice if he or one of his subordinates so much as sneezed in her direction.

He couldn't deny it as the grin swept over his face. She amused him. He knew he was going to _love_ chasing her around to his heart's content.

He did indeed find her interesting, to use her "clinical" word again. He had no other word in his vocabulary that adequately described her. She was sexy and dangerous, sure, but that didn't really capture who she was, he was starting to think. Lots of baddies could be sexy and dangerous.

"How should I describe you then, Rouge? Can I call you Rouge? Good," his green eyes mocked her wickedness like his words, "Bad, sexy, dangerous, sticky finger, cunning… all good words, I'm sure. But I'm interested in you, hence why I chose that particular jargon to encompass your being."

She shifted, smirking at him and leaned against the doorframe of his office. He could tell that even though her face was relaxed, her body and shoulders were tense. He knew because he'd felt the same way at the rave, surrounded by his enemies yet none of them knowing he was there. She was in the same situation now, wasn't she. Not that she knew that there were less than a dozen marines on this monstrous ship right now and all of them, probably even his look-out, were sleeping. He could sit back and let her assume he had a hundred men on this ship. Watching her eyes flicker about and her body twitch with anticipation was entertaining for him.

One round deserved another, he thought.

With her hands looped in her belt loops, it pulled her already low-slung shorts down, revealing the string of a flamboyantly pink thong. Well. She was full of surprises.

"You realize," he started, leaning back and propping his feet up on the desk and flexing his toes so the sandal snapped against his heel, "That as much as I want you in chains en route to Impel Down, I rather like chasing you too. Life is pretty low-key as a Marine when the criminals throw in the towel too soon," he changed his mind and snatched up her wanted poster and walked over to his filing cabinets on the other side of the room. The minute he moved, she tensed and he could feel her eyes following him. He opened the filing drawer labeled P-R and started thumbing through it. He didn't need to look at her picture anymore. He memorized every detail of her façade.

"What'd you say, little dragon? Between us, you run, I chase and agree not to capture slash evade until it becomes no more fun." He paused and glanced sidelong at her, "Knights hunt dragons, right? Ironic…"

When he stood, Rouge tensed and took a step back until she was fully out of the room, just in case. The way he walked was like the way a panther prowled. Despite the reservations she felt about being on a marine ship, surrounded by the enemy with the biggest one just feet from her, she wouldn't wipe the grin from her face. She hadn't been expecting the sassiness that he threw back at her, and it only heightened the enjoyment she felt from this verbal sparring they'd taken up.

Even though part of her was screaming at her to scram, another part of her was pushing her to linger, for just a few more seconds. She hadn't been expecting his reactions to the way she pushed him to be so...entertaining.

"That sounds like a deal too good to be true," Rouge mused, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, swinging her hips from side to side as she did with her thumbs still hooked in her belt loops. "And since your aim is to incarcerate me, I think I'll just have to keep one step ahead of you at all times. Just because your a sexy hunk doesn't mean I'm about to trust you with anything other than looking hot in those open button-down shirts of yours." She grinned and waggled her brows at him, deliberately letting her eyes drink in the hard lines of his abs. Even more attractive was the scars that littered his body. She was a sucker for scars on men; her extended family had plenty of them, and in her childhood she'd always seen them as badges of badassness.

"Besides, you wouldn't be the first man, marine or otherwise, to try and sweet-talk me into getting what you want," she added as her grin spread and turned saucy again. "But if you _do_ keep to your word, and I'm not saying you will, because let's face it, who doesn't want me in handcuffs as fast as possible? But if you do...then I promise to make it the most exciting chase of your life."

She winked at him, blew a kiss, then spun on her heel with the intention of leaving. But she hesitated, because she honestly believed she was too good for him to be able to keep up, since she'd spent her whole life evading the law and he'd only been chasing her for a couple of days. She couldn't endanger her Boss or the rest of the organization, but she could drop a hint as to where her delivery, after the meeting, was going to be.

Another risk. It was probably stupid of her to leave any hint at all, but what fun was a game that you were too good at? She thrived on challenges, after all.

"Enjoy the rest of your morning, Lukas...Next time we meet? Bring the sunscreen and your bathing suit. And maybe those tiny drink umbrellas. I love those." Rouge grinned at him over her shoulder, one last time, then shifted.

Shimmering black scales erupted across her skin, over the tops of her arms, her thighs, her chest and across the tops of her breasts. Her shoulders and the flesh of her back rippled as the scales appeared, spreading from her shoulders down to her lower back, and a sleek tail erupted from the end of her tailbone, extending the sapphire ridge that followed the length of her spine to a sharp point at the extremely-flexible tip that whipped back and forth across the deck. Her nails lengthened into claws, and two delicate horns curved back from her hairline. Her pupils narrowed into slits, and her canines extended past the rest of her teeth into sharp little points as she grinned at him. Finally, two elegant dragon wings swept out from her shoulder blades, and beat the air.

"Take care, marine," she called over her shoulder, leapt into the air, and flew out of sight.

He watched as she shifted and took off into the air, disappearing from his view. That was impressive, to say the least. He hadn't had the pleasure of seeing her in her dragon form yet and he had to admit, it was definitely badass. And sexy in the way the scales blended seamlessly with her skin. He wouldn't favor being on the other side of those sharp talons.

Oh, right. He already was. He was her mortal enemy, after all.

He shook his head and resumed thumbing through the files in the drawer. They were alphabetized by last name – or only name, really – and they were of every pirate, thief, bandit, smuggler that had ever existed. Every vice admiral had these file cabinets in their offices.

P…P… Pa… Pandaman… Pe…Pekoms… Pi… Po… Porchemy, Portgas D. Ace, Portgas D. Rouge… Puzzle… R…

He stopped. A tingle went through him and he backtracked. Portgas D. Ace. Notorious pirate from twenty years ago, owner of the Fire-Fire Fruit, son of Gol D. Roger, brother to Monkey D. Luffy. Arrested and died at Marineford. These were the basic facts that everyone in the world knew about that man. Just like everyone knew Luffy was Monkey D. Dragon's son and owner of the gum-gum fruit.

He was getting a weird feeling about it, like something was itching him in the back of the head. Lukas pulled the folder out and propped it open on the rest of the folders. What greeted him first was the newspaper clipping of his death. Then a typed profile and finally, his wanted poster.

He sucked in a breath and took a step back like the file folder had bit him. There. That wicked smile, the hat, the freckles. He glanced at Rouge's wanted poster in his hand and back to the frayed and yellowing one that held Ace's façade. Holy shit, they could be twins, except she had blue eyes and he had mahogany.

The resemblance was uncanny.

No way. No no no no no, Portgas D. Ace was dead. He died twenty years ago. Admiral Akainu punched a fiery hole through his torso.

Lukas tossed her poster and Ace's folder on his desk and returned to his file cabinet, his fingers shaking and his brow furrowed with concentration. He pulled out Portgas D. Rouge's file. She wasn't a pirate, but she was simply in there as a profile because she was… Ace's… mother…

He went to the desk and leaned over it, spreading all the information out so that he could see it. His eyes bounced back and forth rapidly as his mind whirred. The Dragon had too much resemblance to Ace for there to not be a relation. And Portgas D. Rouge had been Ace's mother and she gave birth to Ace long after Roger's death. It couldn't possibly be coincidence that Rouge looked _exactly_ like Ace did when he was in his twenties and named after his mother.

His heart hammered. Could it be so simple? Like father, like son? Roger had been executed before Ace's birth… could Ace have had a lady friend and fathered a child then died before her birth? Lukas glanced at Ace's picture. He had been a powerful pirate and handsome, even Lukas could see that. Guaranteed that he had some girls jumping all over him at least.

He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. In his mind, he saw the big screen projectors showing the war from where he and his family waited anxiously at Sabaody. Ace's death had been broadcasted, his bloody and smiling face painted all over the screens so that everyone in the world was aware that the Marines had finally taken down the infamous Fire-Fist Ace.

For a brief nanosecond, when he'd seen Rouge's face in that man's picture, it crossed his mind in a crazy idea that Ace was alive. But his vivid memory of the Marineford war assured him.

It was less and less crazy that the Dragon Rouge could be his child. She looked about the right age. Ah, hell. No way she wasn't his kid. The hair, the eyes, the smile, the freckles, she was the female version of Ace. If she wasn't his offspring, Lukas would eat his coat.

Voices and boots thundered across the deck, jarring Lukas's thoughts. It seemed that the crew was up and ready and judging by the movement, they were getting the ship ready to sail. He laid his hand on the two posters, Ace's and Rouge's and narrowed his eyes. Sunscreen, shorts and those little drink umbrellas? When he found her next, he was going to ask her.

He snatched up his pen and scribbled on her poster: _Portgas D. Rouge?_

The sun was high and toasty on Rouge's skin as she stretched out gratefully on the lawn chair next to the expansive pool on Spa Island. Two and a half weeks had passed since the rave in Port Town and her last encounter with the marine Knowles Lukas. Since then she'd done nothing but work, work, and more work. First she'd had to stop by Sabaody island to pick up her parcel of exotic perfumes, then, she'd met up with the rest of her nakama with the bossman Bull on a little island not far from the Red Line where Sabaody was close to.

The meeting had been more tense than she'd anticipated, but then she'd underestimated the Bull's anger over the sheer audacity of the Don for trying to kidnap one of his employees. It was not a good idea to make an enemy out of the head of the largest smuggling ring on the ocean. He had connections everywhere and could easily extract retribution for any slight. The Bull valued his Inner Circle with a fierce loyalty because they were the reason his business was so successful.

So the first half of the meeting had been the Bull raging and directing a payback about the incident with Rouge and the Don. When he finally moved on from that topic, she was able to get in her word about the Vice Admiral, which had only gotten the Bull mad again. This time he lectured Rouge on all of the risks she takes and that no information was worth her risking her life for. She was to _avoid_ this Vice Admiral in the future. Rouge made no comment, made no such promise, which only earned her a glower.

Finally they got down to business over the next couple of weeks.

Needless to say, she deserved a rest. Her packaged had been destined for Spa Island, and Rouge had volunteered herself for a few days off to enjoy the sun and relax. She loved spas, and she loved lounging out by the pool with and endless supply a drinks and a good book.

Although she shouldn't want him to find her, she found herself hoping that the Vice Admiral would figure out the little hint she'd given him. She felt that if he didn't figure it out, he wasn't a worthy opponent. And she wanted him to be a worthy opponent, for some reason.

She'd missed the rush of excitement, of the _risk_ , she felt when he was around. Still, she wasn't about to go looking for him again. Waiting here for a few days was enough for her. So as she stretched out over the towel, an open book laying at the edge of the chaise, she kept herself aware of the people moving within her vicinity, just in case.

She wore her black bikini, the one with the flames along the triangles of the top, but the strings of said top were untied at the moment as she lay face down, and her back, with the elegant dragon curling up her spine, was browning in the sun. A blue drink lay next to the chaise, and large black sunglasses rested on her nose as she red quietly. She enjoyed the sun warming her flesh and took a sip of her drink, a smile curling the corner of her lips.

The idea the Rouge was indeed Portgas D. Rouge swam around his head in an obsessive backstroke for days. Lukas found that he couldn't focus on the simplest tasks; he'd be halfway through getting dressed in the morning before something would strike him and he'd race to his office to investigate. One such time, he did so as he was halfway into his shorts and zoomed across the ship with the top button undone, barefoot and no shirt and scared the bajeezus out of Captain Sethe.

"Vice Admiral, sir!" she shrieked, very uncharacteristically, slapping her hand over her eyes.

"Sorry!" he replied, catching the doorframe and swinging into his office and losing his shorts in the process.

Getting through a few meetings had been nightmarish.

"My point is, they are getting too old to ignore now!" Vice Admiral Ore had slammed his fist down on the table at a meeting the vice admirals, admirals and fleet admiral had not too many days ago, "The littlest has to be almost a teenager now! We don't know what kinda of power they might possess."

"It's a waste of resources to chase around the Straw Hats for a couple of hunches about their kids," Admiral Smoker puffed, "As far as we know, they haven't done anything wrong."

"Why not nip it in the bud? It's almost guaranteed that those brats are going to be powerful pirates like their parents!"

"Chasing the Straw Hats is like chasing shadows. We only know where they are when they want us to know."

"Enough," Fleet Admiral Coby shuffled some papers against the table, "It would be imprudent for us to assume anything about the Mugiwara 2nd Gen. It's a waste of resources, like Admiral Smoker said, to go after kids simply because of the sins of their parents. That type of behavior got us into trouble in the past."

"You only say that because of your relationship with Straw Hat Luffy…" Vice Admiral Ore grumbled.

The look the Fleet Admiral gave across the table had been positively icy, "Censor your thoughts, Vice Admiral. I'd hate to see you demoted for false accusations."

That shut up the conversation pretty quick.

"So," Coby continued, "Speaking of chasing shadows, Vice Admiral Knowles, how are you coming along on your Black Bull smuggler investigation?"

Up to this point, Lukas hadn't been listening. He'd been doodling a dragon on his legal pad but snapped his head up when the Fleet Admiral said his name, "Hmm? Oh, yes," he cleared his throat, "I've discovered that the lead we had led straight to the Dragon Smuggler. Her first name has been established as Rouge and she's proving to be wily to catch, at the least. Currently, I'm still looking for leads to her arrest."

Coby raised a brow, "Rouge, the Dragon Smuggler?" he snapped his fingers and a soldier came over with her wanted poster and the Fleet Admiral scribbled the name on it, "Interesting…" a ghost of a knowing smile danced across his mouth, "I'll have her poster edited immediately. Well then, next order of business…"

Lukas had zoned right out and went back to his doodle, thinking in his head about keeping the "Portgas D. Rouge" bit to himself for a little while.

He was in his office, absently leaned over a map with Captain Sethe Jahzara as she explained the route they were going to take. She walked the compass points over the map, measuring and talking and he was nodding in all the right places when something caught his eye.

"There!" he said, pointing, "What's this?"

She stopped and looked at where he was pointing, "Spa Island, sir," she said, "It's been rebuilt since Straw Hat Luffy demolished it twenty years ago. Supposedly it's bigger and better than before."

" _Next time we meet, Vice Admiral, you might want to bring your bathing suit and sunscreen. And one of the little drink umbrellas. I love those_ _…"_

"Set our course, Jahzara," he said, standing, "We are going there."

"But sir… the investigation…"

He grinned, a swell cover, "What's a couple of days off? A small vacation. Make sure the crew has their bathing suits."

Now, they were here and the crew was a buzz with excitement. The place was huge, bigger than any of the older crew members remembered. As they docked and were given full freedom from responsibility, he got a lot of claps on the shoulder and salutes and "Thanks, Vice Admiral, sir!"

"Remember!" he'd warned them before they left, "This is one of those islands that a 'cease-fire' island. Arrests are strictly forbidden."

Lukas himself was dressed in a pair of brilliantly green swim trunks with large pink hibiscus flowers on it. Jahzara had to hide her laugh at them behind her hand. But he didn't care. He liked them. Coupled with his shorts, he had a simple white button down on, open as usual, sunglasses and flip flops. Normally, he tried to dress his part, a powerful Vice Admiral, but dressing in shorts and tee-shirts were really his favorite.

He was lounging on a chair, looking relaxed for all the world but behind his dark sunglasses, his green eyes were flitting about, ever seeking his prey. He was certain that she would be here and his eyes prowled the crowd for a bundle of dark curls and sinful body. Just when he thought he saw her, he'd tense, only to see that it wasn't her. Damn, there were a lot of banging bodies around here.

Beside him was his captain. Jahzara rarely left his side, especially on outings like this and that's what he liked about her. Always had his back. Today, she was dressed for the sun in a red bikini that modestly covered her and sunglasses on. She had a book in her hands and her right leg propped over her leg, snapping her thin sandal repeatedly.

It was looking at her that he spotted his target. There, laying on a chaise not fifty yards from him, with her curls piled on her head and a book in front of her. A dragon tattoo curled around her shoulders and spine. She looked like every other girl lounging around the pool, but there was something subtly different about her that made her stand out. Maybe it was the way that every time she turned a page in her book, she glanced around, or it was the fact that she appeared alone.

"I'll be right back," he said to Jahzara. She glanced up at him and pulled her sunglasses down before nodding and sticking her nose back in her book. Good. He didn't want her to know who he was about to approach.

He wove his way through the throng of people. On his way, he passed a caterer with a tray of some blue drink. He snagged it on his way, "Charge it to my room," he told the waiter before making his way over to the Dragon.

"Need a refill?" he said to her once he was close enough to her. He placed the drink next to her chaise, "I included one of the little drink umbrellas you love so much…"

Rouge became aware of him when he was still a couple of yards from her chaise, but she forced herself to remain calm. Panic was the least of the emotions that rose in her chest at his appearance, though. She felt excitement, anticipation, a thrill of intrigue. Just the sight of him, especially in civilian clothes with his bare chest exposed to the hot sun, got her whole body lighting up. Sure, he was sexy and if he wasn't a marine, she'd be looking to get in those casual shorts of his, but it was more than a sexual attraction that drew her to him. He drew her to him with his personality, the strange way he seemed to take just as much pleasure in their 'dance' as she did.

Perhaps a part of it lay in the fact that she felt very secure in the world, what with her very powerful family and friends at her back along with the fact that she could outsmart the large majority of the marines with ease. Vice Admiral Knowles, on the other hand, gave her the impression that he could catch her if she let her guard down, and that was exciting. She lived from the excitement of life, and lately it had been too easy for her.

Still, she had no desire to be thrown in Impel Down for a little bit of a thrill. She would just have to keep her head in the game and stay one step ahead of this man.

Her eyes flickered, hidden behind her dark shades, towards the drink he set down next to her half-empty one, and let a smile curve her lips. The strings to her tops were untied, leaving her back exposed for an even tan, and as she lifted herself up onto her elbows to gaze up at him, only her arms and the towel under her kept her breasts from being exposed.

"I appreciate it, Lukas," Rouge replied after a pause as she studied him. Casually, she reached down to pick up her half-empty drink and brought the bright pink straw to her lips to take a slow draw. Meanwhile, her gaze flickered over his clothes, all the way down to his flipflops, then back up to his face, also hidden behind dark sunglasses. Finally, she smirked and tilted her head forward to look up at him over the rims of her sunglasses, and waggled a brow at him. "Looking good, marine. The sandals and beach-shorts do you well."

She replaced her glass back on the deck, then slowly closed her book. The most amazing aspect of Spa Island was that it had a treaty with the Marines stating that no arrests are allowed to be made on the island, since a large portion of the island's revenue came from criminals seeking a vacation. Because of that, she felt more secure around the vice admiral than any of the times before. He couldn't touch her here, not without risking a huge scandal between the marines and the very wealthy owners of Spa Island.

"You caught me in the middle of my tanning," Rouge said with a not-so-apologetic sly smile as she drew her masses of hair over one shoulder until her full back was exposed. She tilted her head towards the bottle of tanning oil that lay next to the chaise, never taking her eyes off of the man, and murmured "would you mind? I wouldn't want to get a burn out here under this warm sun...and if you tie my suit up after that, I'd appreciate it."

Her sunglasses had slid down to the bridge of her nose, and she watched him with an expression of mixed amusement and a challenge glowing in the sapphire depths. She intimidated most men, but she was curious if this man _could_ be intimidated.

How easy it would be to overtake her here; just slap some sea stone shackles on her and lead her away. But where was the fun in easy?

Besides, if it was easy, it wasn't worth it.

Up close and baking in the sun, she was a knock out with a lithe, narrow figure, long legs, perfectly round ass. But it was the devilish smile that he liked best about her. Coupled with her bold attitude, he knew stronger men than him wouldn't be able to resist her charismatic pull.

"Would you mind?" she nodded her head towards a bottle of suntan lotion and pulled her big, dark shades down. Her sapphire eyes bore down on him in challenge.

Who was he to resist this clever game of cat and mouse? Or rather, dragon and knight?

"Scare your cabana boy away?" he asked with a raised brow, dropping to his knees and grabbing the bottle of coconut-smelling oil. He lathered some between his hands and leaned up to rub her back down, slowly.

Being a marine, particularly one of high status like himself, he'd had his fair share of women. Being stationed on certain islands for short amounts of time, the local women sometimes liked to find their jollies in the military men. Particularly, the fairer sex found him alluring, so he'd heard, because he was young and powerful. There was something particularly titillating about that. And once upon a time, he'd had a fiancé. Different story all together.

Point and case, he was no stranger to the soft subtleness of the female body and Rouge proved to be exactly as she looked. Soft skin, yet strong and capable. A frightening combination in an adversary.

She had seemed determine to rattle him and his philosophy was that one good turn deserved another, so Lukas was deliberate with the application of suntan oil. He started with her shoulders, more than just rubbing in the oil, but digging his fingers in too, just a little in a massage. Then he worked over her back, over that intricate and beautiful dragon tattoo and he was struck again by her similarities to Portgas D. Ace. He'd had a large tattoo of his affiliation along his spine as well.

He even went as far as to coat her ribs, the tips of his fingers getting dangerously close to the sides of her breasts and his mind briefly and fleeting wandering over what it would be like to bed such a dangerous woman. He dismissed the idea as quickly as it came.

After making sure he hadn't missed a single spot from the nape of her neck right down the base of her spine, he went back up and deftly tied the neck and back ties of her string bikini.

"I'd ask you to do me, but I don't know if I trust your hands all over me just yet," he said with a grin.

At the first touch of his fingers, Rouge experienced a moment of tightness in her chest and a fluttering in her belly. Yes, his hands were warm, broad, and strong, but what really made her feel...odd...was the fact that she was allowing a vice admiral to apply lotion to her back. So while his fingers felt sinfully good, especially the way he was kneading her flesh-probably deliberately to get a rise out of her-it felt extremely strange to be putting herself in such a vulnerable position.

Despite this sense of vulnerability, she also had a strange confidence in the fact that he _wasn_ _'t_ going to try anything. She felt like this brief encounter between them was more than just on a vacation island, it _was_ a vacation from their normal roles in society of criminal and criminal-catcher. Because of that, it was like they were just two people interacting with one another. It was oddly...nice. She was startled by the knowledge that she wished she could be friends with this man.

His fingers dipped over her ribs, and a shiver went through her. Alright, so perhaps she wouldn't mind a tumble in the hay with him, but all of her previous lovers had merely been friends with some extended benefits. Not only did she enjoy his personality, though, but she also had the impression that he would indeed be a good man to have at one's back on a job or in a fight.

Too bad the guy's sense of morals would never allow him to become a criminal like herself.

Rouge kept herself perfectly still under his administration, even though she found herself enjoying it. He had strong fingers, dextrous, and he kneaded her muscles with ease. At more than one point she had to bite back a groan of pleasure.

Though she felt eerily relaxed with him, she was mindful to keep herself ready for anything, just in case he decided to cause trouble. But then he simply tied her strings and pulled away. The lack of warmth from his hands was almost disappointing, but mixed with that disappointment was also relief. The relief reminded her that she shouldn't want him touching her at all if she wanted to keep her highly-prized freedom. She mustn't forget that as much as she liked this man as a person, he was a marine, and even if she suspected that he might like her too, or at least enjoyed their encounters, he _would_ capture her at any opportunity.

Now that her breasts were secured, though it wouldn't have stopped her, Rouge pushed herself up and let her feet slide off the chaise until she was in a seated position, facing him. Casually, she adjusted her breasts in her suit, then cracked her neck from side to side. Then she grinned up at him and waggled her brows suggestively, scooping up her masses of hair and secured it in a messy bun at the top of her head. Still, loose strands escaped to fall around her face and shoulders. "Oh trust me babe, there would be nothing but enjoyment to be had from that proposition."

Rouge picked up her drink, too a sip, then fixed him with another speculative gaze. "You're a clever one, though...picked up on my hint nicely. I don't plan on giving you another one of those, mind you...now you'll have to use all of your skills to catch me, considerable as I'm sure they are."

It was something she'd come to terms with a long time ago. Captain Sethe Jahzara was in love with her vice admiral.

She couldn't be sure as to when it began, but she had an inkling that it started somewhere around basic training, probably four or five years ago now. She was an Ensign, young for her rank and it had been the first time she was looking on the other side of the training field. She was going to help her senior ranking officials train the incoming meat.

That was when she'd first seen him. She'd heard about him, sure. Knowles Lukas, a prodigy. He was a scant year older than her 21 years at the time and already a commodore and rumored to have demonstrated an affinity with one type of Haki, possibly two.

She remembered everything about those months. She'd expected someone more… disciplined, perhaps and yes, he was harsh and fair with the newbies yet off the training course, he was extremely likable, clever and relaxed. He even had this quirky habit of dressing in civilian clothes all the time. Despite that, he'd somehow managed to seem so much older and that was probably what got him promoted so quickly. He gave off this aura of old soul sometimes and not to mention he was strong. No one bested him in firearms and as far as she could tell, the guy didn't have an ounce of fat on him. The younger boys wanted to be him and the girls wanted to be with him and the senior officers were impressed by him.

His personality coupled with his good looks and Jahzara had unfortunately taken to him like peanut butter takes to jelly.

Then again, so had like, 99 percent of the females at that training. So she'd kept her crush to herself.

She must have made an impression on him because it was at the end of those months of hell in training that he'd requested her on his ship as his second-in-command. Of course, she had to ask why because there had been so many other much more qualified candidates that would jump all over that chance.

And he'd just propped his sandals on his desk and snapped one repetitively and cocked a sandy-brown eyebrow at her and the whole look about him was so sexy as he said, "Why? Because I think you're capable and smart and scrappy in a fight. And I find you relatable. So unless you got something better, which I know you don't, pack your bags."

Just like that and she'd stammered out a 'yes sir' and he added, "Also, I'm promoting you to Lieutenant."

End of conversation.

And for the years after that she traveled with him as his second-in-command, her crush had just gotten that much deeper until she carried that heavy load of love in her heart. She didn't know what was worse; that he didn't know or that he didn't seem to reciprocate one iota.

Her gun metal gray eyes swiftly finished the sentence in her book and she looked up at the period. Lukas – she only called him that in her mind – had been gone a while now. It always made her anxious when he wasn't around because he was a magnet for trouble at the best of times. Not that he wasn't capable, of course, it was just that, well, she worried.

Her gaze flitted about the pools and chairs and water slides, seeking the horrendous bright green and pink shorts he'd _insisted_ on wearing and the six foot, broad-shoulder, strapping figure he had and when she found him, she pursed her lips.

He was rubbing tanning oil over some bikini beauty sprawled in her lounge chair. Who was _that_? She wondered and even her voice in her head sounded vehement. Then, he tied up the woman's bathing suit and she sat up and Jahzara's eyebrows rose.

Okay, so Jahzara didn't think she was an ugly hag; she'd been told she cleaned up good at least and thought that with the right wardrobe, she could look pretty good. But the marines kept her in shape and that compromised her womanly figure a little bit. Her breasts weren't very large and her frame was square and strong. No room for glamour and lush curves and her hair was kept short out of necessity.

She was the girl-next-door compared to the dark and sensuous beauty that Lukas was chatting up. Tumbles of black curls, lithe, narrow figure with a distinct flare at her hips and perfectly round breasts topped lean, long legs and a gorgeous dragon tat curving up her spine… she was a total siren. That was the kind of woman that other women hated and loved and Jahzara was only seeing her from the back.

She sucked her lips in, made a face and opened her book again with a little more point and force. Just because she loved her vice admiral didn't mean she had any right peeping into his personal life and feeling jealous over beautiful females. Jealousy was just misguided anger and she couldn't afford to lose her head like that.

The words on her page blurred and she couldn't help herself as she peered over the top of her book to watch them again. They appeared to be in conversation and Lukas had that wicked grin on his face that just made women want to drip chocolate syrup all over him then lick it off…

Wait… she'd seen that dragon tattoo before. Coupled with the dark curls… she imagined a puffy vest on the woman and a hat and dancing, devilish blue eyes and Jahzara had to bite back her gasp of realization.

That was the Dragon Smuggler, the criminal they were chasing, the one that Lukas had taken a bit of an obsession with. Gee, they were awfully friendly for enemies. Why were they talking like that? Wait! Had he somehow known she was going to be here? Jahzara thought it strange that he wanted to go to Spa Island in the middle of pursuing such a criminal. Now that she thought about it, he had been after that woman for some time now and had spent hours locked in his office, obsessing over catching her. Her wanted poster was right there on his desk for him to look at every second. And she seemed like the type who was capable of getting under a marine's skin and wrapping him up in her beauty and her spell and then using that to make her get away.

Jahzara turned a page in her book distractedly, her mind briefly wandering over the possibility that she needed to do her vice admiral a favor and catch the Dragon for him. Not that she thought he was compromised or anything – she believed in his sense of justice – but maybe… maybe this was woman's work.

He didn't miss the double entendre of her words and he couldn't help but grin. He wondered briefly if the case had been that she wasn't a criminal or perhaps he not a marine if she was someone he might have liked. Indeed, he could go as far as to say that he liked her now, despite their opposing positions. It was not very often that he met a woman who could meet him turn for turn.

But unfortunately, once this little vacation was over, he would have to pursue her in earnest. High bounty as she was, the fact remained that on a whole, she wasn't entirely dangerous to society and therefore, he couldn't be chasing after her as long as he had been. He had other matters to tend to; pirates to catch and criminals who ran around killing and raping a pillaging. The smuggling trade, while a nuisance, was not something a vice admiral was normally allotted to dispose of. He just ended up here in a twist of circumstance.

Although… if he could somehow prove that she was related to Portgas D. Ace, his daughter even and expose that to the world, _that_ could be large enough and dangerous enough for a vice admiral to continue pursuing. She would be considered a top priority to catch and retrieve. In which case, their game of "Where in the World is…" could continue indefinitely.

He grinned at her, a wicked smirk that betrayed that he potentially knew something she didn't know he knew, "Oh, I'm sure you'd leave me some clues on the way. It wouldn't be fun if it was too hard, _Portgas D. Rouge_ ," he dropped his voice at the end, just low enough so that there was no chance that anyone around them would pick up on the name. He wouldn't want to spoil it.

Rouge went utterly still as her true name slipped by those perfect lips of his. She hadn't heard her real name being used in quite some time, and to have it coming out of a marine's mouth was...

Unforgivable.

Impossible.

Dangerous.

Very very few people knew her true name besides those people in her family. It was a secret she guarded closer than her own life, because it wouldn't only mean her own execution sentence if she were discovered, but it would put her father and her brother at risk too. And that was something she could never allow. Her father, though he could take care of himself, had been through enough at the hands of the marines, and her baby brother was just that, her _baby_ brother. No one was touching him.

She was so shocked that she just sat there for a second, eyes wide, her mouth slightly parted, as if she couldn't believe he'd actually uttered her name. How did he figure it out? How did he _know_? Panic rushed to her chest, true and frightening panic that she rarely felt under any circumstance. She couldn't have controlled what happened next if she wanted to. She simply...reacted on instinct as her mind and body went on the defensive.

Rouge suddenly shot to her feet, pulled her arm back, and decked Lukas square in the jaw as hard as she possibly could-and considering she'd eaten a Zoan type fruit, it was considerable. He went down, and she was already on the run. She leapt over the chaise, and took off weaving between the various bikini-bodies women and cabana boys that littered the deck. As soon as she was in the open, Rouge leapt up into the air, shifted faster than she'd ever shifted before, and shot to the edge of the island and then down. She was out of sight within two breaths, a flash of shimmering black and blue scales.

Her boat was down below, and she had the engine roaring within moments of landing. Moving on autopilot, she directed the skiff as she sped away from the island, her hair streaming out behind her as her heart hammered in her chest.

The silence that stretched after he uttered her name filled him with a kind of giddy excitement. He thought, _holy shit! I was right!_ And it was that lack of concentration that delayed his reaction. His Kenbunshoku Haki gave him a heartbeat of warning before her fist collided with the side of his jaw. Had he been focused, perhaps he could have avoided the blow all together. As it was, the premonition was enough that she didn't knock him out, at least.

But god damn, she had a hell of a right hook. His vision spotted and swayed as his head and torso whipped to the side at the impact and he listed backwards as Spa Island swam in fast circles. By the time he managed to brace his hands against the pavement and blink repeatedly to clear his vision, she was gone.

"Vice Admiral!" he heard his captain's voice and within seconds, she was there by his side, "Sir! Are you alright?"

Lukas managed to push himself up into a kneeling position, but the world tilted dangerously and he reached out on reflex and grasped her shoulder to steady himself. She wrapped her hand around his forearm as if to help him balance. He could taste blood in his mouth and didn't trust himself to speak, so he just nodded non-committedly. His jaw ached like a mother-fucker and his lower lip was numb. Bitch. She better not have broken it.

"Sir, you need ice. Your face is swelling," Jahzara continued.

Once he stood, the world was much more stable and he and Jahzara headed for the medical ward to get checked out by a doctor. Already, just by the time it took for him to walk across the patio, he could hear the voices of people in his head whispering about him and what transpired.

Jaw injuries were taken seriously and as he was put through the paces – opening and closing his mandible repeatedly and painfully and xrays and poking and prodding – he detached himself from the pain by thinking about what he was going to do with the knowledge he received for that right hook. While he hadn't actually confirmed it, it was pretty solid evidence that she was indeed Portgas D. Rouge, daughter of the late Portgas D. Ace.

This was big shit, chaotic shit. Once he brought this suspicion into headquarters, the military was gonna go ape-shit. Impel Down was no longer going to be enough. She would need to be captured and imprisoned and executed. Her bounty would go up. Every soul in the world who could benefit from her death would be after her. The lineage of Fire Fist Ace, no. Gol D. Roger, the late Pirate King. She had a powerful bloodline. She may not have committed the same level of crimes as either of her two infamous ancestors, but society would not rest until she was dead. Wrong as it seemed, she would not be allowed to live a peaceful, meandering, average criminal life because of the sins of her family. The priority to see her head on a stake would level to that of the Straw Hat children. According to popular belief, powerful bloodlines bred dangerous criminals.

In fact, being the daughter of Fire Fist, that technically made her the niece to Straw Hat Luffy. Which meant that she wouldn't just be executed. She'd be tortured for information on them, then publically exterminated.

Lukas couldn't help but think that her death would just be such a waste. Powerful and dangerous enemies made marine life interesting, at the very least, offered a balance of power, continual give-and-take as marines chased pirates and pirates chased marines. And he honestly did not believe that because of her parentage – her and the Straw Hat kids – she should be punished. She should be punished for her own crimes, not Ace's or Roger's or Luffy's or anyone elses.

He would stay hush-hush for now and simply hunt her for her smuggling endeavors, even though revealing her would guarantee that he was the one to continue to chase her. It wasn't fair for her to have to suffer for the crimes of others and if he revealed her, he was one man – albeit powerful – against the entire world's belief. Justice would no longer apply to her and he was forever a man of fair justice.

"Well, you're a lucky man today, Vice Admiral," the doctor said, snapping his gloves off as Lukas gingerly held a bag of ice against his swelling and throbbing jaw, "Not broken, just bruised. May take a couple of days to feel better. I'll give you some painkillers to help you sleep."

"Tanks, doc-er," he said around a swollen mouth and cotton stuffed in his cheek to soak up the blood. Damn it, that made it two times she'd gotten him. Rouge: 2. Lukas: Zilch.

Next time he saw her, he was gonna slug her and see how she felt the next day.

Rouge didn't stop until she was a fair distance away. The island had long faded into the distance, and not a thing was in sight as she let the engine go idle and slowly drifted to a stop. Only then did she release the wheel and slump back into the navigation seat, her hands covering her face and her elbows propped on her knees.

What had she done? She'd all but confessed to her identity!

Rouge groaned and slumped even lower in the seat.

She should have acting like she had no idea what he was talking about. She shouldn't have reacted to the name at all. But when she'd heard her true name coming out of _his_ mouth, she'd been so shocked she'd reacted on instinct. She'd always been very collected and conscientious about protecting her identity, but she'd already dubbed Lukas as a very plausible-if entertaining-risk, and for him to go right to the most vulnerable secret of hers and made her panic.

"So you punch him? Jeeze Rouge..." she muttered disgustedly to herself and shook her head.

The calculated look in the Vice Admiral's eye as he'd whispered her name came back to her, and she felt her heart squeeze again in fear. What was she going to do? She can't let it get out that she'd the daughter of Portgas D. Ace. It was much too much of a risk to take. They could find her mother's island, and then they would take her father back. They would find her kid brother.

The idea was unbearable. She shot to her feet and began pacing in the small area on deck she had. She had to kill him. She had to kill the vice admiral before he told anyone. Rouge stopped pacing, her sapphire eyes flickering out to the ocean as her mind faltered over such a drastic and dangerous idea. Kill a vice admiral? That was so risky...

Lukas' face drifted through her mind, and his wicked eyes and crooked grin when he reciprocated to her teasing. The more she thought about the idea of killing him, the more uneasy she became. He was her enemy, but she didn't think he was a bad guy. In fact, she distinctly felt that he was a good guy, and even if that pitted him against her, he was just doing his job.

 _Could_ she kill him? Her stomach went cold at the though, and she curled her fingers up into fists as she turned her eyes down to her fingers. She'd killed before, but she'd never enjoyed it.

But...her family was at risk. What could she do?

Rouge leapt up onto the roof of the cabin, and moved to the mast, sitting down with her back to it and facing the front of her small ship. In the distance, she could see the small dot of an island.

A sudden thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened. Her island!

Being a smuggler, Rouge had many secret caches on various islands throughout the Grand Line just in case she was in need. Among those various caches, she had one in particular on a very isolated, small yet habitable island. Of the times she'd taken small vacation on it, she'd rarely seen a single ship in the distance because it wasn't on route to any of the nearby populated islands.

A devious thought started formulating in her mind. At first she was skeptical, but soon a sly smirk was curving the edges of her lips up. Yes...that could work. It was worth a try, at least...it was better than risking her family, that's for sure.

Rouge full out grinned, got to her feet, and headed for the wheel. She would need to do a little preparing, but she should have the situation with Lukas under control within the next few days.

Three days later, he was feeling significantly better. Now at least, all that was left was so discomfort when his jaw clicked and a very colorful bruise giving him a five-o'clock shadow on the left side of his face. Of all the places she could have hit him, she had to pick the jaw. She couldn't go a little higher and knock him out or clock his eye. No. The jaw.

He was gonna punch her when he saw her again.

He was docked with his squadron on a small, rocky island that housed just one small village and a military base. It was a good place for his men (and a few women) to settle in while he worked out what their next move was going to be. For now, it was quiet on the ship – most of his soldiers were out on the island, running the bars out of booze or chasing the civilian women around most likely – which was nice for a change.

Besides, he was pretty irritable lately. Between Rouge getting him yet again, she slipped through his fingers and this time, she didn't leave him a clue where he was going to find her next. And she was a wily bitch. Not a peep from her. Scouts all over the world made it their job to feed clues to the government about the movements of big shot criminals. She had disappeared into the woodwork like a shadow. Nothing, breathed, blinked or moved in the smuggling trade for the last three days. He had an inkling she was planning something big.

Part of him was excited for it; the other part hated the waiting.

After he snapped at Jahzara over nothing – and she snapped back because she wasn't the type to just roll over and take his shit – he decided that he just needed to be done with his day. He swept all of Rouge's papers and notes and Ace's face into the drawer and slammed it with a good sense of finality. He needed to not look at it for a day to clear his head. Then, he went up to his room and stripped and flopped onto his bed in a pair of cloth shorts.

Apparently, he was more tired than he realized because it wasn't too long that he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

There were only three marines on deck when Rouge, Niki, and another of their work-mates, Leon, arrived on scene. All of there were dressed in black and moved through the shadows like inky blots. Using baby den den mushi, they split up upon reaching the vessel. Rouge took off in her middle form and flew up high to take out the look-out in the crows nest. Once the man had been effectively silenced with a quick jab to the temple with the butt of her dagger, Rouge used her baby den den mushi to instruct the other two as to the locations of the last two marines, both of which were casually chatting while playing a game of poker.

Niki had eaten the shape shape fruit, and could modify the shape of her body to fit herself into any crevice or hole. It also meant she could become very large, if the occasion called for it. Right now, she made her fist the size of a ham, then knocked out her closest target. She caught his body before it hit the deck, then slowly lowered him down to make it look like he'd fallen asleep and slid out of his chair. Simultaneous, Leon took out the third man. He was famous for his slight of hand and had eaten a devil fruit that allowed him to place inanimate objects into an alternate dimension space, a sort of unlimited storage space that only he could access. It was what made him such a stellar smuggler, after all. Before he'd devoured the fruit and become a smuggler, he'd been an assassin, trained in multiple weapon types but preferred stealthy weaponry and attacks when he could get away with. With his great speed, he all but appeared behind the third marine and had the guy unconscious in less than three seconds with a scarf around the man's neck to cut off his air supply.

This marine was also lowered into the same position as his partner. Once finish, Leon straightened, reached into thin air and produced a bottle of wine. Rouge took this opportunity to drop down from the crows nest, and landed silently between her two friends. Leon popped the cork of the wine, took a large chug, and handed it to Niki.

"Wouldn't want to let it go to waste, right?" he whispered quietly, grinning. Rouge rolled her eyes as Niki snickered and accepted the bottle with a gracious nod. She drained the bottle down to a third, then handed it to Rouge.

"Make sure to leave a little," Niki told her, and Rouge rolled her eyes before tilting the bottle back and draining the contents down to a small sliver. Then she placed the near-empty bottle on the table between the two men.

"We could have just knocked them out..." Rouge murmured as she slipped her dagger back into its sheath.

"It's more fun when they blame each other," Leon told her with an exaggerated scowl and a wag of his finger. Rouge ignored him and turned towards the door that lead down into the cabin.

"We have to move quickly. I want to be in and out within five minutes...Got it?" Rouge glanced up at her nakama, and both gave her a sharp nod as they got back to business.

Rouge led the way as they went below deck. They moved in the shadows, a habit so common to them now that it was as normal as breathing. They split up as soon as they were below deck to search for the vice admiral's room. Whoever discovered him first would alert they other two with the baby den den mushi.

It didn't take long. Rouge was about to open her fourth door when a small whisper came from her vest. She dug out the little snail, and heard Niki's whispered voice confirming her find and the location on the ship. Rouge felt her heart jump with excitement, and took off at a silent but quick run.

She arrived right before Leon, and silently slipped into the room. She found Niki looking down at Lukas with a curious expression on her face.

"I don't know why you need him baby, but _I_ wouldn't mind having him as my personal slave for a day...when you're done with him, can I have him?" Niki looked up at Rouge with a wicked grin, and Rouge rolled her eyes.

"No, you may not. And besides, he might not be alive when I'm done with him," Rouge told her with a little shrug. This was only partially true, since if her plan didn't succeed she would have no choice but to kill him, but she sincerely hoped she wouldn't have to.

"You sure you want to do this? A vice admiral is a pretty difficult package to deal with..." Leon's voice came from behind them. Rouge didn't turn around but pulled out a small vial from her shorts and a folded handkerchief from inside her vest.

"I have no choice. I wish I could tell yiu guys what's going on, but trust me, it's better if you know as little as possible. I just need you guys to drop us off on my island, and that's it. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Rouge held the cloth to the open vial, tipped it over until the cloth was soaked through with it, then put the vial away.

As she stood over the vice admiral, she studied him for a brief moment. He seemed so peaceful when he slept, like he wasn't a threat at all. It made her stomach clench uncomfortably that she was about to turn his life upside down, but that was survival of the fittest, as her uncle Zoro always said.

"Alright pumpkin, whatever you say," Leon responded with a small shake of his head. He moved into position slightly behind Rouge, as did Niki, prepared to back her up if things didn't go smoothly.

Rouge glanced back at her friends, then swiftly lowered the cloth to cover Lukas' nose and mouth.

Just as she expected of a vice admiral, he came away the moment she made contact, but he also took in a huge breath of surprise as his eyes flashed open to see her face looming over his. He didn't even get his arms up before his eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp again.

Rouge let out a breath of relief, and she could feel Niki and Leon relax behind her. She kept the material over his face for another few seconds, just incase, then pulled back.

"Perfect...grab his legs, Leon. Niki and I well get his arms."

Five hours later, and Rouge's cache island came into sight. Leon was at the helm of the ship-his ship, to be precise-and Niki was on guard duty with the vice admiral.

"There's the island...and there's the reef I was talking around," Rouge pointed a finger to where the ocean was a little choppy in the middle of smooth seas. Right below the surface was a growing island, an undersea volcano that occasionally made the seas gurgle with cooling magma below the surface. Reefs had already sprung up around the emerging land. "I'll leave my ship moored there, and I can reach it by flight if I really need to."

"What if someone sees and decides your ship is a nice catch?" Leon asked, glancing back at where her smaller ship was tied to the back of his. Leon had a small crew for his ship, though all of his nakama except his first mate were absent for this special "mission."

"Don't you worry about that," Rouge said with a wide smile. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side as she studied the approaching reef. "My shipwright coated my ship in a film that renders it invisible. It's from some kind of barnacle that can reflect whatever is around it to make it look invisible. Franky is an amazing inventor, you could say."

"Wow...that's impressive. Damn girl, if only I had your connections..." Leon shook his head and whistled.

Rouge grinned at him, then moved to the back to make preparations. Within twenty minutes, they had her ship secured to the reef with an iron chain, her cloaking activated, and were on route to the island. It was another hour and a half of sailing before they pulled up on the beach. Rouge directed Leon and Niki as they carried the still-unconscious marine through the small jungle that covered most of her island to the direct center, where a small lagoon could be found. By then, his hands and feet had been bound by chains, and his eyes had been covered with a scarf, just in case he woke up on route.

Once he'd been laid out on the mossy ground, Leon and Niki made their goodbyes and took off with promises to check in on her via den den mushi in a couple of days. Rouge saw them off with a wave, then went to hide the supplies they'd left with her in a small cave hidden on the north side of the island. Once that was done, the sun was already up and coating the island in a pinkish light. She decided to go check and see if the marine had woken up yet.

Then she could see if he could be trusted with the information of her name, or if he truly would reveal her true self and put her whole family in danger. Although she had very few connections within the marines, she'd discovered that nothing about her true identity had filtered through the ranks, so as far as she could tell, he'd kept her identity a secret. She'd tried to get to him sooner than three days in fear that he would tell someone about her, but she'd been unable to get her friends together with the proper supplies until today. It appears she needn't have worried, though. Perhaps he wanted to keep the truth to himself until he caught her...

Rouge sighed, wondering if this was all going to work out alright, and started through the jungle towards the lagoon.

He woke up with a pounding headache, a sore throat and a distinct metallic taste in his mouth.

The first thing he realized was that it was dark. He opened his eyes and met total darkness. It was another second before he realized that he was blindfolded. His hands were tied with the heaviness of chains and more tangled around his feet. He was still in just his shorts. It was more time as he adjusted to the lack of eyesight and his other senses flared out to blindly analyze his environment. He was outside and the air was heavy and humid. He was alone, for now, but he could sense someone else within his vicinity. It couldn't be more than one person.

By the time he sat up and the more he breathed in the fresh air, his headache started to subside and he concluded two things.

First, he'd be kidnapped.

Second, he remembered one thing between falling asleep and here. Rouge's face.

That bitch. She'd kidnapped him!

Was she planning on killing him for finding out her identity? He hadn't told anyone – yet – but that didn't mean she wasn't above slitting his throat preemptively. Then again, he was still alive.

Lukas laid back against the ground and started to rub his face against the ground to shift the blindfold. He was getting dirty, but it was worth it as soon as the material slid up his forehead and his eyes were startled by the sunlight. Blinking away the spots as his pupils dilated, he concluded he was in a jungle. A beautiful lagoon stood nearby and the foliage was green and lush. Under different circumstances, he might have liked it here.

It was a prison for the moment. His prison.

With his hands bound behind him and his feet too, with chains at that, there was nothing he could do but sit and look around and stretch his senses out to the max. She would not sneak up on him again. He believed that if she was the one he could sense here, she wouldn't leave him alone for too long. Kidnappers always approached their victims at one point or another. He was the victim, unfortunately. She'd probably want to know how much she knew, if he was going to share what he knew and of course, if she planned to, she'd have to come see him to kill him.

Waiting wasn't particularly his strong suit, but he could be good at it if he needed to be. He leaned back on his hands, getting comfortable as much as he could and simply glanced around, taking in his environment. He didn't panic; death was a risk of the job so he didn't fear any impending death sentence. Outwardly, he was simply calm, stoic even as he studied the layout of the land and thought about what might happen. Did she have a boat moored somewhere? Was there any way that he could somehow escape? He couldn't be sure. He'd never been in or involved in a hostage situation, but he was prepared to never leave this island, or perhaps even this spot again.

After a little while, he decided to make an attempt to move his bound wrists from the back to the front of him. It was an effort and he probably looked a little silly doing it, rolling around on the ground and trying to kick his hips beyond his hands. Thankfully, he was pretty long limbed and while his wrists bled from the chain chaffing them, he managed to swing his hands in front of him. In front, it was way easier to examine with the chains on his feet. She was good, he'd give her that. The chains were strong steel and had he had the momentum of his hands being free, he might have been able to bust right out of them. But with the limited movements of his arms, it was tough.

Not that he minded, really. He just couldn't sit comfortably.

Rouge watched from up in a tree as the vice admiral removed his blindfold and repositioned his hands to his front. She wished she had popcorn too, because she quite enjoyed the sight of him rolling around in the dirt and moss like that. She couldn't help the sadistic smirk on her face, but she did manage to stifle her laughter.

Barely.

Finally he finished his fidgeting and sat still, acting as relaxed as a person on a picnic in the jungle. She frowned a little as she studied him. Well, this was a much better reaction than she'd been anticipating. It was almost disappointing. But this could be a good thing too. Perhaps he was taking this better than she thought he would.

That's good news for her goal of getting him to swear to never reveal who she is. She could tell he is a man of his word, felt it in her soul, and if she could get that from him, then she would let him go. While it was still a risk, it was better than killing a good man for doing his own job. If he could swear to keep her true identity a secret and chase her only as the Dragon Smuggler, then she could live with letting him go.

Rouge got to her feet, dusted off her hands, and stepped off the branch. She landed in a light crouch, her eyes focused on his back. She was back in her regular getup, with her favorite blue vest and black bikini with the flames. Her shorts were a dark blue this time, almost black in hue, and featured small embroidered waves along the hems. Her knee high boots sunk down into the moss as she quietly tread towards him.

"Vice Admiral Lukas Knowles...welcome to my island. And before you ask, no, there is no boat nor any other way to get off this island. We were dropped off by my colleagues," she started walking around him, a good distance between them in case he decided to lunge, until she was facing him.

"You're my prisoner here for the time being..." she murmured, hooking her thumbs into her shorts and cocking her hip to the side. She tilted her head forward, and the brim of her hat cast shadows across her eyes. "I don't want to have to kill you, but you've stumbled on a pretty important secret of mine...one that I can't risk getting out."

He sensed her close to him for a while and she didn't sneak up on him. He didn't hear her; her boots made no noise against the mossy ground and she was adept at stealth. But he felt her and watched her impassively as she explained his current situation and gave him a wide berth.

Which was good, because he wasn't sure he could trust himself to control the impulse to trip her into the lagoon and watch her drown.

She was back in that first outfit he'd ever seen her in; the sexy short shorts, puffy vest unzipped with that sexy swath of skin showing between the two hems. Her curls were secured back and her Stetson lent shadows to her face, keeping her as ambiguous as ever. Like this, she was impossible to gauge.

"So, it's true then?" the first question he asked her because her words confirmed his suspicions in a way that her right hook had not, "You are Portgas D. Rouge? Daughter of late Portgas D. aka Fire Fist Ace?" he gave her a deliberate once-over, "That wily bastard. Like father, like son. He couldn't die without leaving a legacy of some sort, could he?" he leaned forward and draped his elbows over his cocked up knees, the only position that yielded any comfort for him.

He was insanely interested now in her history and it fought for first place with his pure PO'ed feeling at being so shamefully kidnapped by her.

"And you really plan to release me if I agree to not share my knowledge of who you are, right? That's your plan?" he cocked an eyebrow at her, "How do you know you can trust me? One _slip_ to the Fleet Admiral and you will be hunted as severely as the marines want the Straw Hat kids. Tortured for information, executed, your home island burned to the ground, your mother killed – assuming she's alive now," he allowed, "You could just slit my throat with it and save yourself a whole a lot of panic."

He paused to study her for a moment before continuing, because this next part was where he was interested and confused, "And yet, you've chosen to kidnap me and hold me hostage – alive – for the time being," he narrowed his green eyes, "You must know something about me that makes you question the decision to simply kill me right off. You don't seem like the type to fear retribution, not a Will of the D like yourself. If it's not my forces that keep me breathing, then it must be something about _me…_ "

Lukas didn't say either way whether or not he was going to share her secret. He didn't plan to any time in the near future if only because she was so _interesting_ and well, fun to chase. Admitting who she was would ruin this little game they had going so nicely for them. But he didn't share this and kept his face impassive. He was still anger with her and not at all willing to roll over and be her hostage. He was pissed, frankly. He just couldn't decide if he was more angry at himself for being kidnapped her at her for daring it. So he settled for feeling interested by this whole endeavor.

Rouge was silent for a long time, and her customary smirk was absent. Her eyes were shaded under her hat, masking the fact that she was studying him quietly. He seemed unconcerned about either prospect, that of being a prisoner or being killed, and she wondered what that meant about him. Did that mean he was confident in his ability to escape or kill her? Or did that mean he felt safe around her in the way that she felt safe with him.

It was odd, that she felt no threat from this man. Sure, he was a danger, and that didn't mean she didn't feel a sense of caution, but on the other hand, she absolutely trusted that this guy didn't want to see her hurt. Granted, she'd seen the simmering anger under his calm green eyes, but it wasn't the same as vengeance or a need to hurt someone.

Finally Rouge sighed and uncrossed her arms from her chest and tipped her hat off her head. She approached him, staying just more than an arm's length away, then crouched down until she could stare at him straight in the eye. It was the most serious face she'd ever exposed to him. Reaching behind her, she drew out her dagger, flipped the blade around till it was pointing at him, and thrust her hand forward until the point was position right under his chin.

"Listen, marine. I know your just doing your job, but this is my life we're talking about. Not only that, this is my _family_ that we're discussing. Heck, if this was just about little ol' me, I wouldn't have you tied up here. But I protect my own, any way I can."

She pulled the dagger away from him, spun the weapon around in her fingers until the point was aimed towards the earth, then deftly re-sheathed it. "And I'll be perfectly honest with you...I don't trust you. But I've always been an excellent judge of character. You're a good guy. I don't want to kill you. The idea makes my stomach go cold with dread. I would much prefer not to have your blood on my hands...so we're going to be temporary roommates on this little island until I feel, in my soul and without a doubt, that you will not betray my lineage to the marines, then I will let you go. I'm not saying you have to ignore me as a criminal, but you address and pursue me _only_ as the Dragon Smuggler." She offered him a smile now, one that made her eyes crinkle with amusement and anticipation. "So once I _do_ trust you, you're free to go, cupcake." She reached out and lightly patted his cheek.

"I do look forward to getting to know you better, Lukas..." she murmured his name with a sly smirk. Her nose and freckles were wrinkled mischievously. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. Just think of this as a vacation or something," she encouraged with a nod.


	3. Chapter 3

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Her dagger against his chin didn't even make him blink. Hell, if any weapon made him so much as think about yielding, he wouldn't be a very good marine.

But he liked the sentiment from her. Added to the whole seriousness of this topic.

"Can't say I like this situation, but let's just say my hands are tied," he held up his bound wrists, "So I might as well make the best of it. Doesn't mean I'm not going to punch you the second you untie me though. For this," he pointed to the yellowing bruise on his jaw, "And for knocking me out before and for kidnapping me."

She was trying to save her own family, hence why she kidnapped him. It was unceremonious, sure, but he could make an effort to let go of his anger for the time being, considering the circumstances. He knew, in the back of his mind that he could probably get her to let him go in just a few days by confessing now that he wasn't planning on telling anyone about her lineage. But like she said, he was kinda – in a perverse _keep your enemies closer_ way – looking forward to getting to know her a little better too.

"Alright, so," he started, glancing around, "This jungle is uninhabited I'm assuming. What are you planning on doing for shelter here? And this," he nodded his head and waved his hands a little at his torso, "is just not acceptable for jungle weather. I hope you thought ahead to grab me some clothes or something…"

Her eyes flickered down to his body, taking in his cotton shorts, then looked back up at him with an amused smile. She pushed herself up to her feet and started walking around him, back towards the tree where she'd been watching him for the time being.

"As a matter of fact, I _did_ have the forethought to bring you some things. Aren't I just a darling?" she disappeared into the foliage, and rustling could be heard as she moved the leaves of a low bush out of the way to retrieve the backpack she had stored there.

Retrieving it, she returned to the little clearing by the lagoon while digging around in its contents with her right hand. "Spoiling you, I am," she added as she pulled out a pair of shorts and a blue and green button-down shirt. She dropped these garments down in front of him, then pulled out a little bento box and an empty cup. She placed the box in front of him, placed a pair of chopsticks over the bundle, then moved to the lagoon to scoop up a cup full of fresh water. She placed this in front of him as well.

She placed the backpack a little ways away, by the edge of the lagoon, then turned to face him with a cheeky grin. "See? I'm not here to torture you. I'm even going to let you out of those ankle chains too...though not your hands. I don't trust you enough to give you your hands. I like my face the way it is and don't feel inclined to get slugged right this moment, thanks." She wrinkled her nose at him teasingly, then slipped a hand through her open vest and reached into her cleavage, fishing around under the bathing suit until she produced a key. Holding it up in triumph, she knelt down next to him and swiftly unlocked the chains from his feet. The metal snaked away from his ankles to pool on the moss below him. She snatched it up as she got to her feet, knowing better than to leave something with him that could be used as a weapon.

"There. Sorry about your hands, but you understand," she winked, then returned to her backpack and shoved the chains into it. She then proceeded to unload her own lunch onto the banks of the lagoon, fetched herself some water, then dug in to her bento box with relish in her eyes.

"So," she asked between mouthfuls of rice. "let's play a little game. A questions game, you could say. What made you become a marine?" as she spoke, she pointed her chopsticks at him to emphasize her words.

While he was glad that she did indeed, think ahead to get him something other than the sleep shorts to live in, he refrained from asking her exactly _how_ he was going to get dressed with his hands tied indefinitely. The shorts wouldn't be a problem. The shirt… he just decided to live without it for a while.

Besides, she brought food and that was of utmost importance. He was starving.

She untied his feet and explained that he's hands stayed like they were for the sake of her pretty face staying the way it was – alright, he added the pretty part, but it was fact – and once she whipped the chain out of his grasp, he stretched his legs out with a grin.

"How did I become a marine?" he repeated her question as he awkwardly opened the bento and picked up the chopsticks, his left hand following his right like a shadow. He took a bite of rice as he thought about where to begin. It was a long story, really. Not just one thing inspired him. He filtered through the story in his head, deciding if there was anything about it that she could later use against him and decided that there wasn't. It was a harmless story, really. "It's kinda a long story," he began thoughtfully, "I was seven during the War of the Best, or the Whitebeard War as it's sometimes called, you know, the one where Ace died. My father was a soldier and we lived in Marineford. The war came, we evacuated and my father was KIA," he popped a sushi in his mouth, "Um, he was the main source of income in the house and our family sorta slipped through the cracks once we were refugee to Sabaody. I took over responsibility as the oldest and only boy and after years of stealing food to survive, I was caught by the local marines," he flashed the backs of his hands and made a tight fist. The white lines appeared sharply contrasted against his skin, "My hands were whipped and I was given a choice: chore boy or arrest and I chose chore boy. My family was secured that way through my stipend and I had something honest to do. I was ten years old," he shrugged.

He adjusted his hands and dropped a chopstick with a breathed curse, "My turn," he added as he picked it up and then mimicked her by pointing his chopsticks at her, "Tell me about your childhood. Are you close with the Straw Hats, being Luffy's niece or whatever?"

She regarded him speculatively as she munched on a piece of boiled seaweed. He'd once willingly broken the rules? But then he'd been caught...and taking his punishment had changed his life for the better. Interesting...It gave her a lot of insight into him.

She returned her chopsticks to her bento and delicately picked up a piece of sushi, the popped it into her mouth. She shifted her position until she could lay on her stomach, her booted feet in the air behind her and swinging absently as she chewed. Finally she swallowed, then tipped her head to the side as she fixed a wicked grin on him.

"Close doesn't even cover it. Uncle Luffy has been a part of my life sine I was two or three. He's the reason why I became a smuggler, actually. I wanted to be just like him, but I didn't have any drive to be a pirate. I just wanted my freedom, and that's something he always cherished is the freedom he has on the sea."

She popped another piece of sushi int her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "As for the other Strawhats, I'm pretty tight with them too. Uncle Franky built by boat, and aunt Nami taut be how to be sneaky. They all taut me things," she added with a shrug of her slender shoulders, her eyes dancing with amusement as fond memories played through her mind. Memories of the time Luffy snuck her off her island for a short jaunt on his ship, and her father had nearly blown up the island in anger. Memories of the time Zoro had caught her sneaking a bottle of sake at Christmas when she was sixteen, and how he'd shown her how to drink.

She sighed, smiling fondly, then abruptly shook her head and took a sip of her water. "Anyways...enough about them. More about you." She turned her bright sapphire eyes back to him, and tapped her chopsticks against her lips musingly for a moment before she grinned and pointed them at him again. "Are you a mama's boy then? Still in touch with your mother and your sisters? Or sister? Or whatever you have for siblings...?"

He processed everything she said with an analytic mind. Someone else may have taken the story with a grain of salt, but he was actively seeking clues about her and any insight he could gather. Luffy being a part of her life since she was two confirmed that her age was 20, since Straw Hat disappeared for two years after the Whitebeard War. He knew just a little about her now, but for the future, he was going to pay closer attention to her, see which skills she acquired from the Straw Hat crew. Sneaky like Nami the Cat Burglar. A strong fist fighter like Luffy. Witty, perhaps from Nico Robin. He would look further into that.

Lukas took a sip of water and smirked when she asked about his mother. Knowles Angela was a soft, loving woman and he loved her fiercely; she was the woman who gave birth to him. But she wasn't the apple of his eye as far as his family went.

"Actually," he started, shifting to sit cross-legged, "My sisters are everything to me. Three little sisters. Rylee, Ashlynne and Gabriella…" he ticked them off his fingers as he went and grinned, "She was an accident." that little baby saved his mother's life. Lost with grief and trying to wrangle three young children by herself while her whole life fell apart, that baby was the one thing his mother just _needed_.

"I moved heaven and earth to make sure they had everything they could ever need. I remember starving at night just to make sure they all could eat. My mother could hardly find work and the odd jobs she managed were barely enough." Memories flooded his mind of trying to grow up with three little females in the house. His mother tacitly trying to explain the difference between boys and girls. Gabbi trying to pee standing up because ' _that_ _'_ _s how Lukey did it_ _'_. His mother and the two older girls crying when he left Sabaody at 13 years old to train at a different facility while Gabbi tutted at them like a disapproving hen. He smirked.

He waved his chopsticks at her, "Enough about family. It's depressing," he thought for a minute about what he really wanted to know. Sure, he did want to know about her family, but there probably wasn't much for her to tell really. Straw Hats, her mother and he could probably guess the rest.

He chewed the end of the wood for a moment in thought, "Tell me…" he started, then stopped to think again, "Tell me something personal about you. I now know about your family and childhood and your smuggling. Tell me something that makes Rouge Rouge."

His question gave her pause, her chopsticks poised in her mouth. She turned her eyes up from her bento box and over to him, studying him with slightly narrowed eyes as she considered what to say. The question felt rather more personal and intimate than the previous questions, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to go that far with him.

 _It_ _'_ _s not a date, Rouge. He left it up to you so just chose something unimportant,_ she chastised herself in her head, looking back down at her bento box as she pulled out the last piece of sushi and popped it into her mouth. For some reason, this little questions game _felt_ like a date of some kind, and Rouge had historically had a problem with getting close to men. She liked to keep her relationships casual, without getting too attached.

But this wasn't a date, not even close, and considering that she had that odd impression when her supposed "date" was handcuffed said terrible things about her. Jeeze, she obviously needed to get laid or something. She needed to get sex _off_ the brain, especially where a marine is concerned.

"Alright, I'll tell you something about me, but that means you have to answer my questions too. Any question I ask." she added, emphasizing her statement by pointing her chopsticks at him and waving them threateningly. Finally she laid her chopsticks down across her empty bento and propped her chin up with the backs of her hands.

"Something that makes me me? Hmmm..." she moved her head from side to side as she thought about her question, and her kicking feet moved in tandem with her behind her. "Well, most people don't know this but I didn't happen upon my devil fruit accidentally. I always knew I wanted to eat the Dragon Dragon fruit, ever since I first heard it existed, because I wanted to have powers relating to fire, in honor of my father. So I hunted down this devil fruit, the first thing I did when I was out to sea on my own, and it took me one year to do it."

She grinned proudly, her eyes somewhat clouded with the memory fresh in her mind. Then she slipped one arm out of her vest and rolled over enough so that her back tattoo was visible to him. "Then I got this tattoo to memorialize the adventure. It was the first thing, other than food and stuff, that I spent the money I had earned on the open sea on."

She tilted her head so that she could look at him over her shoulder, her sapphire eyes dancing over the dragon figure. "So what about you, Marine? Tell me something that makes Lukas _Lukas_."

She slipped an arm out of her vest to give him a close up of her dragon tat again. It was beautifully intricate and solid black so much of the tattoo was done in shadows. Only two bright blue eyes peered like diamonds from her skin. Lukas scooted a little bit closer to her just to get a better look at it. It fit her so perfectly – completely suited to her personality in its shape and fluidity.

Her response sparked his curiosity right away. She went after the Dragon-Dragon fruit because of her father and his association to fire. But then…

"Why didn't you just go after the fire-fire fruit?" he interrupted but then she asked him her question and he stopped to think about his own answer. What made Lukas _Lukas?_ He really had to think about that one and he eventually put down his chopsticks as he formulated his answer.

"I dislike the fact that it's expected of me to dress older and appear with my colleagues," he finally decided on, "Every other vice admiral is pushing forty and they don't have to dress up to appear old and wise whereas I need to wear a three-piece suit and a stern face to garner the same effect," he waved his chopstick towards the shirt and shorts she amiably packed for this unexpected vacation, "I'd much rather wear that."

Wearing suits was really something he only did when he needed to keep that façade of his rank, in spite of his age. Dressing his age offered only his lack of life experience and that was sometimes enough to make some of the older marines leery of his power. Dressing in suit aided to the menacing aura. Sure, he had power, but because of his age and rank, he always had to push a little harder.

It sucked sometimes.

He shrugged and picked up a few grains of rice as he mused over what to ask her. Drawing a blank over something productive to ask her at least, he went with, "What do you like to do with your spare time?"

Rouge deliberately ignored his question regarding the fire fire fruit. Everyone supposed that the devil fruit was now available, floating across the sea somewhere, but Rouge knew the truth, that it was still being used by Portgas D. Ace. Instead, she was much more interested by his confession about his clothing.

An amused and surprised smile spread across her lips and her eyes flickered up and down his body, from his casual shorts to his shirtless torso. Well, he certainly looked better in this outfit that his stuffy suit, that was for sure.

"I have to agree, you look far hunkier in those shorts that any suit, as far as I'm concerned," she grinned wickedly at him, pointedly letting her gaze drift down to his pecs. "You should get a nipple piercing. You're so ripped it would just add to your badassness. Flaunt it babe," she nodded in all seriousness.

She rolled over onto her back now, deftly removing her hat and placing it next to her as she did. She tilted her head back to continue conversing with him, and cocked one knee up, planting her booted foot in the moss. Her unzipped vest gaped to expose her taunt stomach.

"In my free time, which I don't get too much of, mind you...I like to read and learn different languages. Being multilingual is very good for my smuggling trade, and I like to excel at my work, if you couldn't tell." She grinned cheekily at him, wrinkling her freckled nose.

"You're turn. What did you get your little sister Gabriella for her last birthday?" Rouge tilted her head to the side, keeping him in her sights. She knew it must sound like an odd question, but the kind of gifts men got for their women told a lot about their character.

He gave her a stern look with a hint of humor in it by tilting his head down and cocking an eyebrow at her when she suggested 'nipple piercing'.

"You're out of your mind, sister," he told her before moving on to process her answer. Reading, huh? He was surprised. He just hadn't been expecting such an answer from her. Partying, drinking, sleeping maybe but certainly not reading. Or learning languages. The world wasn't filled with a huge diversity of languages and it was always pretty impressive to meet someone who has studied them.

"My sister?" he repeated. He thought for a moment and closed his now-empty bento. Gabriella was… Gabbi was different than the other three because she grew up scrapping from the get-go. Lukas, Rylee and Ashlynne remembered a time at Marineford when there was always enough food on the table, kids didn't share the same path to school as criminals and their clothing always kept them warm. Lukas had stepped up to the plate quickly at a young age to make sure that his sisters were taken care of. Rylee and Ashlynne, having once lived what he would graciously call a softer life, always had that sort of innocence and naïveté that life would go back to that.

Gabbi… did not. She grew right up in that rough neighbor and took to it like a flower takes to water and sunlight. She was a scrapper. She was a mean girl. She was a rough-around-the-edges tomboy. She wasn't soft and sensitive. She rarely cried.

"Gabbi turned 20 a few months ago," he grinned and shook his head, "I uh… I took some time off and helped her open a bar in the lower numbered mangroves. She's the only one who stayed on Sabaody with my mother. The other two moved away a few years ago. But Gabbi takes care of my mother and she really wanted something to keep the two of them going, other than me."

He shifted and stood and cracked his back the best he could trapped and bound like this. The motion emphasized the rippling muscles in his back and abdomen. Then, he dropped back to the ground and crossed his legs, "Your turn now. Favorite memory."

His answer surprised her, and she nodded slowly, her mouth pursed as she mused for a moment. So, he had a sister in the seedier parts of town on the archipelago...Interesting. She must be a tough kid to survive in that part of town, and considering the way this guy was a marine, she'd have to be extra tough to be straight and honest in such a lawless part of town. That, or this marine turned a blind eye to his family...Interesting.

She wondered if that was good news for her and their little situation. But the fact that he put so much effort and with such thought into his gift was truly touching. She was the eldest, so she'd always been the tough one, felt like the protector for her little brother, so she felt a connection to Lukas in that way.

She liked him more and more. Damn.

"Favorite memory? Hmmmm...The first time I got my ship. I had been bugging uncle Franky for years, saying that if he built me a safe enough ship, my...mother..would let me go off the island and explore the world. Well when I turned seventeen he finally did, and it was such a beautiful and amazing ship, I was so pumped. He rigged that thing up and down and gave it all the bells and whistles. It's made out of really strong, adam tree wood, so it can stand up to a lot of shit. The first time I rode the waves in my own vessel, I felt free, and that has always been my dream, to be free and able to go wherever I want and have adventures."

She grinned, tilting her head back to look at him with her eyes burning with pride. "My ship is one of those ships that every pirate, criminal, or marine would love to have, and I love that. My Uncle's the shit too, he's a freaking robot for sea's sake."

Rouge snorted with laughter and shook her head, looking up at the ever lightening sky with a sigh. She paused for a moment, considering her next move, then asked the question that she'd been wanting to ask for a while. It would be a determining factor in whether or not she believed he could protect her secret.

"Do you like me, Vice Admiral?" She murmured quietly, with a small, coy smile on her lips as if she expected him to lie or simply confess to hating criminals. A lot of people couldn't get over the criminal thing. A pity really, because she personally thought she was pretty awesome.

Oooh, that question was a doozy.

He stopped to consider that one. Did he _like_ her? He couldn't even say that his automatic answer would be either way. He supposed that for his job, it would be social acceptable for him to say that he didn't like any criminals. But that wasn't the truth for him.

His own moral philosophy really stood that he was dispassionate about baddies. He didn't get emotionally attached to them in either extreme; like or hate. Getting emotionally invested into someone blinded you towards what was the right and just course of action. He resolved to have no bias.

He supposed he despised people who killed others for pleasure or raped women or trafficked children. Those types of crimes were unforgivable because they hurt _others_. Smuggling… that was different. She wasn't exactly _hurting_ anyone. Ya, smuggling sort of killed the tax system on trading and ya, she brought illegal items to countries that banned them, but it was a life style and it wasn't physically causing others harm.

Lukas studied her for a moment, the way she was stretched out in the soft moss, her knees bent up and her vest opened to show the swath of stomach, indented from gravity and the line of her ribs. She was interesting, he decided. He could yield that what he did know about her he liked. Were she not of the criminal persuasion, she would be the type he'd like to get to know on a personal level. He owed her an honest answer at least.

"I don't like or dislike you right now," he replied, "You interest me, to say the least. I can't say I know enough about you to formulate an opinion either way," he smirked, a thought coming to him and he shook the chains on his wrists, "I suppose though, that the purpose of this whole charade is for you to make me like you. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that your very _existence_ hinges on my opinion of your nature. If I like you, you get to stay a smuggler. If I don't, well, I already told you what would happen. So, Dragon, you tell me. What are you gonna do to get me to like you?"

Rouge rolled over onto her stomach abruptly and pinned him with an expression that was half miffed and half amused. She perked one elegant brow, then propped her chin up on her hand as her feet started swinging slowly behind her again. Her other arm lay across the moss in front of her breasts, and she lightly drummed her fingers against the ground in mild irritation.

" _I_ don't need to do anything to get anyone to like me. Frankly, I'm offended that you would think I would change who I am just to get you to like me," Rouge said with a little shrug of her slender shoulders. She didn't look very offended, but she was half teasing him, and the smile that played at the edges of her lips told him that she wasn't put off by his question, despite her words. "I just be myself and if someone doesn't like me, then fuck them. Their loss, really. I'm not changing who I am for someone else. Besides, why would someone like me _try_ to get you to like me? It's obvious that you're already hooked on me, even if you won't admit it."

Rouge grinned and winked at him, her eyes twinkling with wicked amusement from behind loose curls that had fallen from her half-assed attempt at a bun. She pushed herself up from her prone position and dusted herself off as she got comfortable in a cross-legged seated position. Shifting to lean back against a nearby tree, she linked her fingers together behind her head and tilted her head back.

"Though I suppose I understand your misgivings about someone who tied you up and brought you to a deserted island for an indefinite period of time..." she mused thoughtfully, studying his arms and his wrists where he was still bound by chains. "And since I'm still afraid for my unique facial features, I'm going to keep those shackles on you for a little while longer. Consider it a compliment, actually!" Her grin got wider, her nose wrinkling as her gaze flickered back up to his face. "It means that I'm intimidated by you, since most other people I wouldn't even bother with the cuffs since I'm clearly capable of handling myself. You, on the other hand...well, let's just say I respect your strengths."

Her gaze slid away from him and her face turned towards the pool of water as she considered her next words, then said, "So is there a lady out there who can claim you as her man, Mr. Knowles?" she finally asked, her grin turning sly as she regarded him from her periphery. Seducing him into not revealing her identity was not above her, and she certainly could use that as blackmail if she ever did get him in her bed, but she would not seduce a man who belonged to another. For some reason the idea that he might have a girlfriend or a wife out there took all the fun out of her interactions with him. She found she enjoyed flirting with him; it was like a game between them.

He froze for a half of a heartbeat when she asked her question. He didn't mind sharing about his job or his family because he loved both and when you loved something, you talked about it. Plus, he didn't have an ounce of fear that she was the type of person to use those things against him. He gave a metal shrug; he'd just kill her if she did.

Romance though… that was starting to get too personal for him. It wouldn't be such a debate to talk about if he didn't have it, if he was just a simple marine with those occasional flings and that was the end of it. That was the problem though; he had something worth writing home about, so to speak.

Or he did.

"I had a fiancée once," he settled with, "But the stress of being attached to a travelling marine was too much for her in the end and we broke it off." He kept his voice blasé because frankly, he'd made peace with it after two years. He didn't like to trudge through the slop of old memories like that. Perhaps he'd feel differently about it if he hadn't been the one kicked to the curb with his heart stomped all over. He'd reverted back to his pre-Heather state of mind about women to cope; carefree and relaxed with zero commitment. It was a zone he liked to stay in.

He stopped to think about a question for her and inevitably, he was distracted by the memories that bombarded him. For the one whole year he'd been stationed at her island, he'd been convinced that Heather was his soul mate. She was so glamorous and spunky with a slight devil-may-care attitude. Not unlike Rouge, but a little less seductive than the Dragon. Heather just loved life and people and he'd been completely magnetized to her. She was a bit of a flight risk and he could say that that was how their relationship got started; she'd come to find him when she was upset over something and they'd sparked.

He should have known right there that that was going to be the problem later.

"Same question," he turned the table back on her, "Though, you don't seem like the type that'd want to get attached, because of your freedom and your secret…"\

His answer surprised her, and she found her gaze studying him a little more intently because of it. He'd been willing to be married, once. That spoke to his character, meant that he was a reliable man, capable of committing himself to a woman.

The idea made her stomach twist with discomfort. While she was all for seducing a man to get her way, she balked at serious relationships and at anything beyond the physical with the men she chose to sleep with. She didn't intend for anything like that where vice admiral Knowles was concerned, but the fact that he was a marrying type made her nervous. Emotions and attachments made seduction a hell of a lot more complicated.

Rouge sighed mentally. She'd just have to be extra careful with how she handled herself with this man. Which seemed to be the general trend of things regarding him; he made her think carefully about her every move. If she _did_ decided that seduction was her best route to getting her way, she'd just have to make it plain that she _wasn_ _'t_ the marrying type.

"Very astute of you, Lukas," Rouge finally answered him, deliberately using his first name in an attempt to become more familiar and comfortable with him. "I do not have a _lady_ out there...nor a man, for that matter," she teased, referring to the fact that he'd redirected her answer to her when she'd specifically asked about ladies. "I don't like to get tied down, you could say, though I do like to have my fun." She grinned at that, her eyes darkening wickedly as she twirled a strand of hair around her fingers. "I've never met a guy who even made me _think_ about getting serious, to be honest."

Somehow, she'd let this little question game become more personal than she'd originally intended. She'd been aiming for a little insight into his character, and was getting far more than she'd set out for. Part of her was thrilled by the new information, the continued advancement of their game of cat and mouse, but another part of her was uneasy by getting so close to a marine.

For her next question, she tried to think of something more pertinent to her mission. Considering he would be marooned with her for some time, there were some questions she would need the answers to, and she might as well ask them now. "Do you have any food allergies? And not that I can promise anything, but do you have any favorite foods?"

He gave her a brief once over and chose not to voice his option that it would be a complete and utter waste for her to be into women. Though, he couldn't deny that the very image of her getting hot and heavy with a mysterious woman in his mind didn't seem like a terrible option, so long as he could watch. Maybe participate…

No. No, he couldn't afford to think so actively about the Dragon that way. She was and always would be his enemy. She was sexy as all hell, but that was the end of it. Fantasies led to longing and longing led to action and action led to consequence.

Her next question seemed so normal that at first he was startled and didn't immediately answer. This little back and forth exchange had gotten so personal before he'd realized. At first, it seemed as though she just was looking for a little bit of insight about him and he went along with it, hoping also to gain a little intel about her. And he had, that was for sure. But the abrupt change in the line of interrogation had just brought to the forefront how intimate their conversation had progress.

"I don't like vegetables," he told her, "Odd, I know, but this physique was built on meat and starch," he gave her a wicked grin, "And my favorite food is coffee. Not a food, I know," he shrugged. He was a total mess in the morning if he didn't get his daily fix of caffeine. In fact, he was mildly surprised that he was functioning even remotely now. Then again, getting kidnapped and waking up on a deserted island with your enemy had its own 'staying awake' properties.

He had a sneaky feeling he wasn't going to sleep well for a long time.

"So what's the plan?" he asked her, "Are we camping romantically under the stars or you have some shelter?"

The slight tension she didn't even know she felt eased out of her shoulders when their conversation returned to a more normal topic. An amused smile flitted over her lips and she shook her head in bemusement at him. "You sound like a lot of men I know, actually. Well, this being an island, there's no way for you to avoid vegetables, but fortunately for you, I ALSO love meat."

Feeling like their little question game was over, Rouge pushed herself up to her feet and dusted herself off. She scooped up her backpack and slowly walked past Lukas as she rummaged through the contents of the black canvas bag. "And this is a deserted island, my friend...if I had shelters littered all over, it wouldn't stay very deserted for long. Don't worry though, it's nice and toasty on the island so I'm not worried about you freezing that nice ass of yours."

Shen cast him a teasing grin as she past him, then kept going until she stood at the very edge of the small clearing, between two large trees. From the backpack she pulled out a tightly folded length of canvas. Dropping the backpack, she tightened her fingers around the hem of the canvas, then shook it out until it became apparent that it was a hammock. She started rigging the hammock up between the two trees, her fingers working fast.

"You'll be staying by this lagoon. It's safer for you here, and the only source of fresh water. You'll be fine, there aren't any wild beasts that someone like you shouldn't be able to take care of with your hands tied behind your back," she glanced at him over her shoulder as she worked and wrinkled her nose in laughter at her words, her eyes flickering over the cuffs around his wrists.

"And as much as the idea of a romantic night under the stars sounds sinfully appealing, I don't quite trust you enough to close my eyes around you." she chuckled and finished up the last of her knots before she stepped back to admire her handiwork. The hammock hung securely between the trees, swaying in the light breeze that rustled the leaves of the trees. With a nod of satisfaction, she bent down, rummaged through her backpack once more, and withdrew a folded blanket. She then shook it out and laid it over the hammock.

"There, that will be nice and comfortable for you, I promise. I'll be sleeping in a similar set up on a different part of the island." She turned back to pin him with narrowed eyes, holding up her index finger to wiggle at him. "And don't even think about trying to find me in the middle of the night. The more you cooperate, the better food you will be provided with."

She reached behind her to replace her hat on top of her unruly hair, then crossed her arms over her chest and continued to smily coyly at him from under the wide brim. "Just think of this like an extended vacation. You have a beautiful lagoon to go swimming in, plenty of sunshine and relaxation to be had, and plenty of fresh fruit to make cocktails!" Her grin turned playful, and she hoisted the now-empty backpack over her shoulder. "I know the handcuffs aren't a lot of fun, but if I feel good about you I'll have them off faster than you know!" She paused to shift her gaze from his face to the cuffs and back again. "I'm going to go get myself settled now, but I'll be back soon, I promise. Is there anything I can get you before I go?" she tilted her head to the side as she regarded him.

After she set up a hammock for him and disappeared, he waited a few heartbeats until his Haki told him she wasn't on top of him anymore and he went to work. Like he was going to sit here and cooperate. Please. He was a vice admiral for a reason and that meant he wasn't going to sit around idly and wait for her to release him like he was some pet she couldn't quite decide what to do with.

Did he want to earn her trust? Sure, it would make his way off this god-forsaken island easier. At the same time, trust compromised their position as enemies. And frankly, her threat of death and disbowelment didn't faze him at all. He knew that he wasn't going to say anything to his superiors because he enjoyed his battle of wills with her. But he wasn't content to just sit here and wait for her judgment either. He needed to check things out for himself.

He changed into the cargo shorts she'd left him and after mulling over the shirt for a little bit and glancing at his bound wrists, he decided that he needed to be done with these. He'd keep them on around her, let her have that false sense of security he needed to permanently get these suckers removed, but when he was alone, it was just going to be a bitch.

With bare feet on the soft jungle floor, he moved like a wraith until he found exactly what he was looking for. A plant with an oil in the stem. It took some work, but he was able to coat his hands and wrists and wriggle out of those chains like a pro. Alright, so he lost some skin, but what was the first layer of skin really, in trade for freedom?

Oh, it was beautiful feeling. Lukas stretched his shoulders and twisted his shoulders around. So much better. He was feeling cramped with those bulky things on.

Back at the lagoon, he tossed the chain in the hammock, covered it with blankets, washed his face and tossed water on his head to scrub his scalp. His hair dried straight up as he pulled the button down on.

He was trained in reconnaissance. Part of his training had been to learn to survive on what he had at hand. And it wasn't much. Training usually offered him a knife, but this afternoon, he had nothing but his hands and whatever tools nature provided. In reality, he didn't need much. It wasn't like he was gonna kill her in her sleep. He just wanted to know what he was getting into. Recon. Observation. That was it.

Evening came and went and she came to bring him something to eat. He wrapped the chains around his wrists expertly and peeled his shirt off to give the appearance that he was still contained. As soon as she left him again, they were off again.

He waited for the night life to come out and darkness to set in before he left the vicinity of the little lagoon. He'd done some thinking during the day. If this was her island like she'd said, this must be one of her cache islands. If that was the case, then she had to have a base somewhere. Maybe not a house or anything, but a camp, hidden somewhere near water, but not too close she could fall in, in a valley or a cave. Somewhere easily accessible to her and easily defendable.

His Haki was a huge asset to him because he could sense her across the island and it acted like a compass to tracking her. He moved like a shadow, the ground absorbing the sound of his footfalls. It didn't take him long to find where she was. _Bingo_.

The island had a natural up slope into the middle in a type of mountain-like land shape. It wasn't nearly as tall as a mountain, but it had distinct cliffs and slopes and it was such cliff face that he encountered. She was near here. In the dark, it was hard to gauge, but he assumed that she could be somewhere high enough up on the cliff face that no one could stumble upon it and as she had the added advantage of flight, she could access it easily.

Lukas turned in a silent circle and scanned the area. The woods ended sharply to a grassy clearing expanse that went right up to the edge of the cliff. It was perfect to see people coming if he was correct in thinking she'd set up her base in the cliff face somewhere. He stuck to the woods for cover. His goal wasn't to encounter her tonight; only to see what he was working with here.

The rest of the day passed in relative relaxation. Rouge spent some of her time spying on the vice admiral, studying him in hopes to understand him better. The more she got to know him, the more she didn't want to have to kill the guy. Part of her wondered if she should go to her family to figure out what she should do, but another part of her cringed at the idea of turning to them for a problem _she_ created.

After all, if she hadn't put herself out there with this marine, he might never have figured out what her lineage is. She had deliberately bated him, deliberately invited him to keep chasing her. She'd been cocky and bored, and now she had a true dilemma on her hands.

Watching him, she'd decided that he was a very relaxed marine considering he'd just been kidnapped by a criminal and taken to a deserted island for an indefinite amount of time. She couldn't decide what that said about him, but she hoped it was a good thing.

For the rest of the day, Rouge worked on the necklace she was making for her cousin for the girl's birthday. Using the knife she carried at her waist, she slowly carved bits of shell, then strung them on a cord in a patterned order. She finished just after darkness had set, and put away her materials in the dim light of the lamp that illuminated the interior of the cave.

Once everything was in its proper place, she blew out the lamp and headed for the entrance of the cave. Rouge would be sleeping outside in a hammock she'd set up at the top of the cliff because she preferred sleeping out under the open sky. She only slept in the cave in bad weather or in fear of discovery, when ships got too close to her island when she was on it.

The entrance of the cave was on a sheer cliff face, easy for her to get to with her gift a flight. The entrance was partially concealed by vines and bushes that hung down the side of the cliff and obscured half of the opening. She used these for cover now as she peered out into the night. She always checked to see if anyone was nearby before entering or leaving the cave because she coveted the secrecy of it so highly.

At first she detected nothing, and had been about to step out onto the thin ledge when suddenly her keen eyes detected movement in the woods below. She froze, and narrowed her gaze to the nearby vicinity as she scanned.

There.

She blinked, then a slow smile curled up the edges of her lips and a soft chuckle slipped free. Clever clever marine. He'd found her lair _and_ he'd gotten free of his chains. She'd been suspicious regarding the chains because sometime during her spying, she'd thought she'd seen him without them this afternoon, but she'd been far away and it had been difficult to tell. Now she knew for sure.

What should she do with him? She wondered if she should sleep in her cave while he was on the island. Though she fiercely loved her freedom of movement, she had to be mindful of the fact that she wasn't exactly on a vacation with the guy.

In the end, she decided that honesty was always the best thing for any situation like this. Rouge replaced her hat on her head, shook out her hair, and shifted into her half dragon form. Taking two steps to the edge of the ledge, she briefly glanced down to the boulders and bushes that awaited her below, then plunged from the ledge like a professional diver, her arms splaying wide before shifting in front of her.

Knowing that Lukas was watching, Rouge let herself fall further than she normally would, her wings curled in tight to her body, her tail streaming out behind her like a curving river. When she was a few yards from the ground, her wings suddenly snapped open, caught on the air, and her body soared off course from the dive.

She beat her wings fiercely, and shot into the darkness so fast that she blurred. She reclaimed some of her lost altitude, acting as if she hadn't noticed that her kidnapped victim was nearby, then veered and disappeared into the trees of the forest in which he was hiding.

She landed lightly on a branch, high in a tree, and pulled her wings in tight to her body. Using her tail for extra balance, Rouge sprinted through the treetops soundlessly, bounding from one tree to the next as she made her way back towards where she'd last seen Lukas. Her wings gently cupped the air with every leap, and her tail compensated for her body as she moved, and so she made utterly no sound as she travelled. When she found him, she maneuvered herself to a tree that was behind him, and silently drew her dagger from her belt.

She didn't hesitate and dropped right out of the tree and directly behind him. Faster than she could blink, her arms flashed out, one going around his neck to hold the dagger to his throat, and the other went to his wrist, holding it firmly and away from his body. Simultaneously, her tail whipped out from behind her and the dextrous tip wound itself around his other wrist, forcing both of his arms to be held slightly away from his body. The restraints were less to disarm him and more as a cautionary indicated if he decided to do something nasty.

Her half dragon body was pressed against his back and her breath tickled his neck as she chuckled next to his ear. "My my, you're a quick one...Have you come to slit my throat in my sleep? Or maybe you were just getting the lay of the land so that you could more easily tie me up tomorrow night? I see you've already free these talented hands of yours..." She murmured in an amused, light voice, almost teasing in its cadence. The knife wasn't pressed against his skin but held loosely, almost jovially. She tightened the arm she held around his neck and shoulders, rising up on her tiptoes and pulling him even harder against her front as she attempted to peer around to his face. She grinned, her eyes twinkling wickedly, and added, "I didn't realize you were so interested in bedtime play with me."

The movement was so quick in his mind's eye that he didn't even bother to keep up with it. Part of him held fast to the belief that if she wanted him dead, she would have done it already. The other part of him, well, he was confident in his ability to get away from her if she intended to do him harm.

As it was, she didn't and he felt one hand slip that predictable knife against his throat while the other grabbed his wrist and something _else_ grabbed his other wrist. He flickered his eyes and even in the dark shadows, there was the unmistakable glint of dragon scales. Clearly, he wasn't the only thing that could go bump in the night.

Her hold on him was loose and posed little challenge for him as he flicked his wrist out of her hand hold and spun around. In the same movement, he reached out and curled his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her in close to him so that their bodies were dangerously close to touching, so much so that every breath in and out of his lungs had his chest brushing against her breasts. Her knife was still against the skin of his neck and just as the last time she held him at knife-point, he was unconcerned by it.

"Let me remind you of something, sister," he started, a little grin pulling up the edges of his lips, "I am a vice admiral. Not only that, but I did it in half the time my colleagues have. And I didn't just shake hands to get there," his tone suggested pure factual information rather than boastful, "There are only four people in the entire military organization that don't fear me for all the right reasons. No amount of chain is gonna restrain me."

His emotional state was pretty screwy. Normally, he was a even-keeled kinda guy. But between being kidnapped, knocked out, tied up and all by _her,_ she was making him feel things that he wasn't used to feeling all the time. Anger and undignified, excitement at the constant push-and-pull they played at and god help him, she even turned him on in that sinful, forbidden fruit kind of way. And anxious because he knew he shouldn't be feeling like this.

Lukas chose not to question his actions in the moment though and made a conscious decision to reflect on this moment later.

"I came to spy on you, see where you were, maybe find out what you were up to because I like to _keep my enemies closer_ ," he said that last bit in a whispered growl, his face mere inches away from hers. He twisted a curl around his fingers at the nape of her neck, "You caught me unawares because I _let_ you. But I assure you, if we were fighting on equal ground, brawn against brawn…"

For a single, brief, scalding moment, he tugged her flush against him, her skin against his and leaned down to breathe right in her ear, " _I would own you_ _…_ "

Then, he pushed away from her, detangling from her grip and the space cleared his head a little bit. She made him feel a little dizzy, "Don't bother sleeping with one eye open, baby," he raised a hand in farewell, "I won't be back tonight."

With that, he took off through the forest without a sound, the shadows swallowing him up.

Rouge watched him go, a scowl darkening her normally cheerful features, and told her heart to stop beating so erratically. Her cheeks were a ruddy red and her eyes were darkened to a deep midnight blue.

When her ears could detect him no longer, she let out a sigh and her scowl dissolved into rueful smile as she shook her head. Well, he certainly knew how to push her buttons, so to speak. His aggression and sheer confidence in his own ability was downright sexy. Just the memory of his rumbly voice sent a shiver down her spine, and she had to laugh at herself. She was acting like a teenager all over again, and over a marine to boot.

 _Relax. You have a mission here, remember? You just want what you can_ _'_ _t have_ , she told herself soberly, forcing herself to start scowling more seriously again, and started walking towards the edge of the jungle, towards her cliffs.

 _Just because I have a mission doesn_ _'_ _t mean I can_ _'_ _t have fun doing it,_ she retorted back to herself, letting out a rather unlady-like snort at her own insanity. She often had these arguments in her head, a tug-o-war between her more responsible, put-together side and her more wicked, irresponsible and spontaneous side.

That was when she decided she was going to try and seduce him. She wanted to see if he was just as confident in bed as he was with his fighting skills. She grinned, pausing as she cleared the forest, spread her wings, and leapt up into the night, winging her way towards the barely discernible entrance to her cache.

Not only would it be fun to seduce him, but if she actually succeeded she would have something to hold against him. Sleeping with a criminal was not something a vice admiral should do, and it might help her cause. He might keep his mouth shut if he knew his position was at stake.

Rouge landed softly on the floor of the cave, her wings folding into her back and then vanishing altogether as she shifted back to her all human form. _And if you fail?_ a part of her wondered, intrigued by how little reaction she'd gotten from him so far when most men ended up drooling over her.

She paused to consider the idea that he might not want her at all. The idea seemed silly, but then she shook her head and her own conceitedness and sighed. It was worth a shot either way. If she failed, she was no worse off than she had been before.

The back of the cave had a small pallet set up, with a side table holding a wooden cup and a candle. Rouge headed there now, having decided that for tonight, at least, she would sleep in the cave and safely out of harm from her adversary. She changed into a loose shirt that had once been her fathers, then slipped under the covers with a barely constrained yawn.

Tomorrow, she would test the waters with him, and take things slow. After all, they had all the time in the world...

With a small smile, Rouge fell asleep.

Half an ocean away, on an island known as Water Seven, two men met in the shadowy room of a local inn. Outside the door stood four men, two bearing the colors of the Lawash Smuggling Corporation, and the other two dressed in fine clothing of obvious wealth.

Both parties were now enemies and rivals of the Black Bull Smuggling ring.

Inside the room, Don de Maccello tilted his head back imperiously, then held out his bejeweled hand and shook hands with the other man. This man, sitting across the table from the Don, was slender, tall, a lanky individual with dark coloring and pale skin. His black eyes glittered gleefully as he spread his hands out, and said, "It's good to see you again! I look forward to seeing the fruits of our last discussion, Maccello..."

His grin turned a little dark, and he tilted his head forward, shadows sliding over his eyes. He was Mario Lawash, the head of the smuggling ring in competition with the Black Bull's ring.

Don de Maccello closed his eyes briefly, reached up, and rubbed his temple in a slow massage. "Well..." he drawled, opening his eyes now and gazing up at Lawash with regret and anger in his eyes. "She got away from me. She had someone to free her, and then Vice Admiral Knowles started waving his authority in the city...it turned into a sticky situation."

The slender man nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing slightly. The Don started sweating, but nothing on his face betrayed the anxiety he felt. Mario Lawash was a powerful man, not only in his business but in physical strength, and it was well known. The Don also had power, but most of it was in his small army of highly trained men.

"Unfortunate. Well. We will just have to try again then, shan't we?" Lawash finally murmured with a resigned sigh.

"Well, it appears that Vice Admiral Knowles has gone missing, and the Dragon Smuggler has also gone to ground. Both of those individuals are out of the picture for now, as far as my network can detect..." The Don offered speculatively.

"Interesting. Well, _my_ informants have told me of a small meeting of a few of the Twelve in a few weeks to discuss a quadrant of their territory. We will strike at that meeting, and take down as many of the Twelve as we can. They are the pillar of power for the Bull, and once we take them out, that bastard's smuggling will be crippled. You will be given those females you specified, and I will gain monopoly of the smuggling trade over much of the Grand Line." Lawash's expression slowly turned more pleased, until a smug grin curved his lips upwards.

The Don mirrored his grin with one of his own. "Excellent. With our combined forces, we are sure to succeed."

"Agreed. We will talk strategy over the next few weeks. Prepare your men. The Twelve are very strong individuals. I won't tolerate failure," Lawash warned, his eyes severe. The Don blanched, then steeled his eyes and nodded.

Sleep eluded him that night. Part of it stemmed from anxiety; the last time he slept, he'd been kidnapped and held hostage on a god-forsaken island. The rest… well, he had a pretty firm grasp on what Rouge's body felt like pressed against his.

He'd been too long without a woman, he decided. Work made for a cold, bitter bedmate. It had been quite some time since he shared his sheets with a warm body. Especially as warm and lush as the Dragon.

He shouldn't even be fancying these thoughts. Sleeping with a criminal was about as faux pas as matching stripes and polka dots together. Not only that, but sleeping with a criminal he planned to _arrest_ was socially unacceptable. No, it was work suicide. His whole career would be over. It would be a conflict of interest.

He couldn't afford to lose control around her. She might have to trust him to let him leave this island, but he couldn't allow himself to trust her. There was a reason why his bed had been empty for so long was that he found he was having attachment issues. The few women he'd had in between Heather and now it had just been bad. He'd been too romantically weak-willed, he supposed. 'On the rebound' was the colloquial term for it.

So even if Rouge _wasn_ _'t_ a world-class criminal, he shouldn't be thinking about bedding her at all. Or rather what it would be like to bed her. If he dropped his guard at all… she was too easy to like. He already kinda begrudgingly liked her.

With the sun dappling through the dense foliage, he realized he'd been up all night, fortifying himself against the Dragon's feminine charms. He rolled out of his hammock and landed on the ground in a push up position. After all, this physique didn't maintain itself. A couple of reps of that and he found the nearest, sturdiest branch to curl his knees around and crunched his body up to touch his elbows to his knees, giving his stomach muscles a good burn. That was just the warm up. After that, he found the coast of the island and jogged around the perimeter. It was a good jaunt, a solid five miles at least. He did it twice; it wasn't easy in some parts. By the time he made it back to the lagoon, he'd worked up a decent sweat and that water was looking better and better. It wasn't very big or very deep, probably the size of a swimming pool and if he had to guess, six or eight feet in the very middle. He could see the bottom to say the least. And a ten or so foot waterfall off to the left pounded gently into the water. It was perfect.

He took a step towards the calm, clear water before he stopped and considered his very meager belongings. Including the shorts he was kidnapped in, that brought his total clothes total to two pairs of shorts, a shirt, two pairs of boxers, no shoes or socks and a little bag of essentials i.e. soap, toothbrush, razor, etc. Even though he was a hostage, he wasn't allowed to go Neanderthal apparently.

His conclusion; he didn't have much. So there was no way he was going into that water and soaking the only clothes he had.

Naked it was. And if he had an audience, then she was getting a show. After all, she tended to always be watching him, like he was some exhibit animal.

Rouge had been aware of the vice admiral when he'd made his run past her cave. She'd decided to let herself sleep in a little. In fact, she likely would have slept till lunch time if she hadn't heard Lukas' pounding feet in the sand. She got her love of sleep from her father, who almost always had to be dragged out of bed by her mother.

Blinking blearily against the bright sunlight that filtered through the entrance of the cave, Rouge peered out to see the marine in the distance, running parallel to the ocean. The island was largely conical in shape, with a so-far inactive volcano at the center. The water that collected from the top of the peak collected together and formed two streams, one that fed the small pool of water at the base of the cliff on the other side of the mountain from her, where Lukas' hammock had been set up, and another which trickled down a gully between her own cliff and an adjacent one. Both water courses eventually drained to the ocean, but the basin created by the waterfall near Lukas' camp allowed the water to collect to a depth of seven or eight feet, not that she'd ever gone that far, since she'd drown.

There were several cliff faces ringing the slopes of the volcano, and hers and Lukas' were almost directly opposite of one another. The jungle covered most of the island save for the very top, where there was a shallow crater from the last eruption. Around the perimeter of the island was a sandy beach, save for in three locations where craggy rocks and boulders jut out from the mountain and met with the sea, creating large cresting waves in rough weather.

If Lukas was running the perimeter of the island, then he'd be in for some climbing too.

Shrugging her slender shoulders, Rouge stretched her arms over her head and cracked her neck with a languid yawn. She had her own ways of training and working out, and they were much more fun than a boring jog around the island. Usually she got her music playing and went all out, but today she decided to take it easy and did a series of stretched and crunches. Her routine was quick, because she wanted to finish before Lukas. Three quarters of the way through her routine, she'd heard him pass by the cave again, meaning he was doing another perimeter run.

Perfect.

Once she'd finished, Rouge slipped on her swimsuit, pulled on her shorts, secured her dagger, then pulled on her boots and her hat. She headed for the cave mouth when she remembered that she probably should provide some food for the man. With a sigh, she turned back and hurried to put some provisions in a sack together. She threw in some bread, cheese, and cuts of salted ham. After a moment of hesitation, she then threw in a small pad of paper and a pen, because she didn't want him to be _too_ bored during his time here when she couldn't be entertaining.

Securing the back to her pack, she headed out. Hopefully, even with her delay, she'd be at the lagoon before he was done his workout and could take a little splash in the shallow part and get all clean. She took the shortcut to the lagoon, leaping upwards instead of gliding down when she excited her cave. She flew over the peak, then drifted down to the small clearing of trees at the edge of the cliff. Following the stream to where it crested over the cliff and tumbled down in the small waterfall, Rouge was forced to backdraft hurriedly when she caught sight of Lukas.

She landed silently on the top of the cliff, her wings folding across her back. How did he get back so fast? He must be a faster runner than she'd given him credit for...Scowling in annoyance, since now she wouldn't be able to enjoy the lagoon in her own quiet relaxation, Rouge crept towards the edge and peered over.

What she saw made her jaw drop and her eyes widen. Lukas was butt-ass naked, wading into the water. Without his clothes, his whole body was covered with thick ropes of muscles under tawny, tanned skin. He was almost as impressive as her Uncle Zoro, though she'd never seen him naked.

Wow. Her mind was in a state of shock as she just stared at him openly. Last night she'd decided she was going to try to seduce him to get her way, or at least gain leverage over him, and now that she saw what she was going to be working with, she was really looking forward to it. He was _damn_ sexy. She licked her lips and grinned wickedly. Oh yes, this would be a lot of fun.

Rouge shifted her position so that her belly was on the ground and her arms were folded in front of her, hanging slightly off the edge of the cliff. Her wings were still curled across her back, and her slitted eyes glittered with heat and amusement as she gazed down at him, the tiny points of her fangs evident as she continued to grin. "Are you enjoying the water, marine?" Rouge called, perking a brow at him and tilting her head to the side. Thought she was a fair distance away, she let her eyes deliberately soak him in again, and her grin widened. "Because I sure am enjoying the show. This is far more entertaining than my usual morning shower."

He was hip-deep in the water of the lagoon and had just splashed a scoopful of water on his head when he sensed her presence and snapped his eyes around. Her voice came a second later and his gaze landed on her, draped seemingly precarious on the edge of the ledge above the waterfall. She wasn't so far away that he couldn't tell that she was in her half form; her tail flickered in and out of sight and her eyes were that strange hybrid of human blue and cat-like slits.

He quirked a brow at her and didn't even bother to disguise the fact that he was naked. When one lived in the military as long as he did, nudity was the least of your troubles. Besides, the water was up to his hips so the goods were obscured at best.

"Living vicariously?" he replied, draping his hands over his hips, "Bet you miss swimming in the water."

Seeing her, this time in the daylight, made her seem more real than last night as if in the dark, she was some forbidden dream. But with the sun glinting off her scales and her hat lending contrasting shadows to her face, she returned to that wicked, clever criminal he simply enjoyed chasing. And brought him back to his current predicament of being her hostage.

"So, tell me, Dragon," he continued, "What are two lonely souls like us going to do with our time? Surely you have some form of entertainment here on this island. Are checkers your style or are you more of a 'hide and go seek' kinda gal?" he wasn't sure if he wanted to spend more time with her or not. More time with her meant that she would trust him faster, but it prolonged his exposure to her which was not gonna be good for him. On the other hand, alone time would give him space to think of his own clever ways of getting off this island without her help.

Laughter bubbled up and Rouge tossed her head back in amusement. When her eyes refocused on him, they were dancing with mirth and tiny fangs glinted in the morning sunlight. She reached up a hand to pop her hat off her head, letting it slide back across her shoulders. "I just love your sass, marine. I've never known a hostage to be so very friendly and well adapted to their situation."

All throughout her interactions with this marine, she'd felt that calm surprise by how casual and even friendly their encounters went. All of her previous run-ins with the law had usually resulted in nothing but bad tempers on the part of the marines. Was it just his personality and hers that meshed well together, despite being on opposite sides of the line of justice? Or perhaps was he just trying to get her to trust him as quickly as possible so that he could be free of her island?

If that was the case, could she ever really trust him?

The idea made her insides squirm uncomfortably. Was all of her effort going to go to waste? Would she just have to kill him anyways?

 _No._ She reminded herself, and let her eyes flicker away from his distant face and down over his broad shoulders. The way he casually draped his hands over his hips, with a seemingly complete lack of modesty, was devastatingly appealing to her. _Remember that even if you can_ _'_ _t trust him, you can get him to sleep with you, then hold that over his head. It would ruin his career, maybe even get him some jail time._ Her smile slowly turned more suggestive. This was definitely going to be enjoyable. So long as she kept herself on guard around him and reminded him that she was his only way off the island, she could have her fun. Why not? She was stuck here with him anyways.

Rouge pushed herself up from the edge of the cliff, then used her feet to push herself forward and straight off the ledge. Her wings snapped open, scooping up a current of air and sending her gliding effortlessly down to the edge of the water next to the cliff face. "Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of ways to entertain ourself here Lukas. And plenty of positions, too," Rouge added with her eyes innocently wide and her smile barely constrained at the overtly obvious statement. She casually shrugged out of the small backpack and removed her hat and dagger, then lightly dropped them on the moss away from the water.

"Seriously babe, you're on a deserted tropical island with a chick who happens to be a notorious smuggler. I have all of the provisions needed for a beach party and more. And if checkers are your thing, then I can make it happen," she winked at him, then promptly reached up, untied her bathing suit, and let the garments drop to the moss along with the rest of her things.

Rouge had about as much modesty as her Uncle Franky did. Her mother had always had a thing for sunbathing naked on the beach, and Rouge had always gone with her. Add the influences of her crazy Uncles and almost-always-shirtless father, and Rouge had learned to love her body shamelessly. Now that didn't mean she flaunted herself nude in public, but given the current circumstances, she wasn't going to be shy. Her body was banging and deserved to be admired, as far as she was concerned.

Letting her hair fall down around her shoulders in waves, Rouge stepped towards the water. The waterfall fell down the ledge along the cliff face by where she stood, and beat down on several boulders rocks that littered the edges of the small lagoon. One such boulder was fairly level on the top and featured a light spray of water across the smooth surface. She stepped onto that rock now, and became dotted with droplets as the mist covered her body. She may be a devil fruit user, but light showers were definitely possible and essential for keeping herself nice and clean. She tossed a smirk over her shoulder as him as she started lathering soap into her hair.

"Sure I miss swimming, but now I get to fly, and trust me, it's way better than swimming." She grinned and turned her face up into the spray.

The whole family was out lounging on the beach and that meant _the whole family_. It was like a scene from the good ole days when the Straw Hats would take little breaks on deserted islands during their pirating days, except, well, there was the addition of a few extra members.

Luffy and Zoro were creating a gigantic sand castle with the help of a couple of children; Zoro's twin 10-year-old girls Khaleesi and Ameera and Luffy's own 11-year old Bellemere. Sanji was fixing a barbeque as usual, assisted by his daughter Cerise – she was a mystery, literally, showed up in an adorable bundle on his doorstep with a note that said: _Your fault_ and no signature – the girls were sunbathing and the rest of the crew; Usopp, Franky, Chopper, Brook were in deep into a volleyball game.

And… one family member was missing. Because he was out in the ocean, riding the old Waver.

Monkey D. Ace, namesake to his uncle, was a spitting image of his father. The same dark hair that hung into his eyes and curled around his cheeks, the same dark gray eyes, similar body structure – though his sire was made of rubber and therefore naturally more lithe – and same wide smile. The only difference was that his grin was filled with mischief and deviance.

Because he was his mother's son through and through.

His childhood had been filled with every sort of skill that his father's nakama could impart on him. As he grew older, only a few had stuck. Certainly, he was adequate at everything from guns to hand-to-hand, but his real passion came in the form of troublemaking, navigation and surprisingly music and swordsmanship. Now, at 15-years-old and the oldest of the Straw Hat 2nd Gen minus his cousin Rouge, he supposed that his skill with the blade stemmed from the fact that his Uncle Zoro lacked a son to beat the shit out of and low and behold, Luffy manages to produce one.

In fact, there was a real serious lack of boys in this family, so he figured he'd been screwed all along.

The sea sprayed his face and he laughed, letting out a holler of victory as he tunneled right through a monster wave and soaked himself right down to the skin. Franky had tinkered with the Waver for him – without his mother's permission and boy, had she been irate over it – and he was the first one to get to test out the new gigs in it.

He turned the Waver back towards shore and opened the throttle, testing out the speed and tracking it on the meter nestled in the middle of the handle bars. 55 knots… 60 knots…

He ground that sucker into the sand and propelled himself out of the water and onto the beach at a whopping 79 knots per hour. He heard his mother shriek as he hit the brakes too hard and flew over the handle bars, landing in some beach brush. A cacophony of laughs and screeches met him and he grinned as he detangled himself from the bushes.

"RAION!" Nami shrieked, rushing over to him and pulling him out of the bushes and brushing him off, "You are gonna kill yourself doing that!"

Raion – his nickname as a child stemmed from his mother calling him her 'little lion' – kissed her cheek, "Don't worry, I got it, Mother."

Luffy laughed from the sand castle where they were burying Belle under it, "He's fine, Nami!"

She nodded and brushed Raion's hair off his forehead, "How was the Waver?" she asked.

He nodded and gave her a thumbs up, "Choice."

She made a point; he _was_ rather relaxed for a hostage situation. Maybe it was because he could adapt so well, but he had a feeling it had more or less to do with the fact that he had no reason to fear her. He was confident in his ability to take her on if he had to. And he didn't feel like his life was in any danger with her anyway. So that lent to his overall calm demeanor.

"A beach party would be a perfect opportunity to organize my escape. I'm sure I could commandeer a boat and be out of your hair…" he said, running his hands up and down his arms with a little water, getting off the last of the suds on him.

She was very distracting, doing whatever she was doing on the mossy rock near the waterfall and he tried to keep his eyes averted, but as soon as the bathing suit top came off, his eyebrows went to war with his hairline. It was right on the tip of his tongue to ask her what the hell she was thinking, but he sucked it back when she shimmied out of her shorts and bathing suit bottom and hopped lithely to the rock nearest the waterfall that offered a light spray of water.

Oh man. She was total trouble for him. He had a hell of an imagination, for sure, so seeing her in tiny little bikinis and shortie shorts didn't leave much left over for him to visualize. But the shock factor came into play at seeing her completely naked, even as his brain tried to keep up with the image burned into his retinas.

She turned her back to him and he took a huge, silent intake of breath as his neurons took a step back from the situation and his body went from completely tense to somewhat… less… tense. It was the first time that he was seeing her hair down, minus the strands that sometimes came free from the knot in the back of her head. Dark, so black they were nearly blue waves and ringlets twisted down her spine until the very ends played peek-a-boo with her tailbone. He suddenly wondered what it would feel like to run his fingers through it.

Oh boy. Out. He needed to be away from her. A-SAP.

Lukas turned tail and waded out of the water. It didn't matter that he was dripping wet; he scooped up his shorts to put them on. He was clean now; no sense being in the water anymore, especially naked and within a 50 mile radius of that little sex kitten under the waterfall.

The subtle swishing of the water alerted Rouge that Lukas was moving. It was a surprise, really, because she'd been expecting some kind of remark about her lack of modesty, some kind of jab at her crude criminal ways, and had a line of comebacks ready in her head. But instead her showering was met with...silence.

Was this a good thing, or a bad thing?

Not wanting to miss what his expression looked like-an important factor if she really intended to seduce him, since the way a man reacted to their first time seeing a woman nude said a lot-Rouge stepped back and around to get a peek. What she got was mostly his back, but with the water sluicing down his spin and over his _very_ lean buttocks, it was quite the sight. It was enough to take her breath away, really. He had a fantastic body and seeing it up close was a treat.

Unfortunately, the combination of turning hurriedly to get a look at his face and the butterflies in her stomach at seeing his naked backside made it hard to pay attention to where she was stepping. As she put weight down on the foot she'd shifted positions with, she found that she'd miscalculated and placed it half off the rock she was standing on. The result?

A surprised squeak that sounded like a strangled curse came from her as she lost her footing on the slippery edge of the rock. She didn't have time to pull out her wings before she splashed ungracefully into the lagoon with her arms flailing in a failed attempt to right her balance. Though the lagoon was not very deep, she was an anchor and the moment the water closed over her head, she was lost.

All of her strength was suddenly sapped out of her and her futile struggling ceased. Bubbles danced in front of her eyes as she blinked under the water, cursing vehemently in her head. How could she be so stupid and fall in like that? She was part dragon, she should have excellent balance, but dammit, she'd been distracted.

 _Fuck fuck fuck..._ she closed her eyes tightly as tried to force her laden arms to move. She didn't have time to be embarrassed yet; she was too preoccupied by the idea of not drowning. Would the marine bother saving her? Probably not...

He had his shorts up over his hips when he heard the strangled curse and whipped around just in time to see Rouge go splashing into the water, arms flailing and just a quick slip of skin.

He couldn't help himself. His hands stopped on the button/fly on his shorts and he stared as she splashed around in the water. It was kinda funny and he grinned. She was always so balanced and poised.

"Nice fall. You know, for a dragon you're not very…" his laughed died right on his face as the splashing stopped and bubbles issued from the exact spot where she fell in.

And it hit him. Dragon meant Zoan fruit. Zoan fruit was a devil fruit. Devil fruit people couldn't swim…

Lukas swore and started back into the water just as another brief thought crossed his mind and he stuttered on taking that next step. She was his kidnapper, holding him against his will here on this god-forsaken island. So what if she drown? If she was dead, he'd be free. Alright, alright, so he balked at openly standing by while she suffered a horrible suffocation, knowing that he was standing on the shore, unwilling to help her. But what was the hurt of letting her get unconscious for a little while so that he could have the freedom to brainstorm his way out of this jungle.

He charged into the water, throwing out all his thoughts and going right on military instinct; leave no one behind. The lagoon wasn't very deep, but she slipped right into the deepest part and it was a solid eight feet. She was at the very bottom. He dove straight from the shallows into the water. He was a good swimmer. As a non-devil fruit user of his particular station, swimming was actually one of his strong suits.

She was sitting at the bottom of the lagoon among the weeds, eyes closed tightly, face pinched like she was concentrating hard. Naked, sitting among the vegetation with her hair fanning out around her and she could have been a nymph or some other underwater siren. He pushed it out of his mind and grabbed her by her arm right underneath her shoulder and kicked off the bottom of the lagoon to shoot for the surface.

He shook his head and blinked the water out of his eyes when they surfaced and he dragged her to the shore or at least to where he could touch.

"You alright?" he asked her, holding her upright as the water sloshed around her hips.

As Rouge sank to the relatively shallow bottom of the lagoon, a litany of curses streamed through her sluggish mind. If the water hadn't been sucking the energy right out of her, she probably would have been thrashing around out of pure disgust at her own folly. She was a goddamn dragon! With near cat-like balance! And one peek at a man's-albeit tasty-ass and she'd gone headfirst into the water from a shower she'd used countless times before.

She supposed that she had never been distracted during her shower before, since she was almost always alone on this island. Very few people outside of her family knew of its existence.

Not only that, but there was a good chance she wasn't going to be saved. This was the perfect opportunity for the marine to get rid of his kidnapper and try to figure a way off the island. Even if she had more access to transportation than him, she was still his kidnapper. Why would he save a criminal like her anyways?

Another string of sluggish curses ran across her brain. She was so fucked. And worse, she was dying in the most embarrassing way possible. She would much rather meet her end doing something awesome instead of making a fool of herself.

Suddenly, just as her lungs started to burn, a hand clamped down on her arm and she was hauled upwards. Her eyes flashed open in surprise, because the only person that could be was Lukas. Her heart jumped in her chest and hope flared through her. He was going to save her!

As her head broke the surface of the water, her gasp was loud and full of unspoken relief. Despite the fact that she could now breathe, she was still mostly in the water, so as he started dragging her towards the shore, she could do nothing but hang limply from his grip and try to recover herself. She was dizzy and lightheaded in addition to the physical weakness that weighed her limbs down like lead.

He pulled her up by her arms and asked if she was alright, and for a moment she could only blink up at him between the wet strands of hair that fell across her face. She was still hip-deep in the water, so she was still being affected and out of an instinct to survive, her hands shot up to weakly grip his wrists, incase he decided to let her go and drown for real this time. Her eyes seemed extra large and blue compared to her relatively pale skin and midnight locks, and for a moment she almost looked innocent.

Then she wrinkled her nose, her freckles stark against her pallor, and grimaced at him as best she could when she really felt like a wet noodle, still hip-deep. "Well, I am now that I'm not underwater, that's for sure...I'll live, so long as you get me out of here." Her voice was gruffer than normal, but she managed to keep a somewhat amused tone. It occurred to her then-now that her life wasn't in eminent danger-that she was as naked as the day she was born and less than a foot from an almost-naked Lukas. Being naked so close to him did absolutely nothing to make her feel bashful because she had practically no modesty to speak of, but that wasn't what popped into her mind first. Her eyes reflexively flickered down, over his tawny and bare chest and down to where the water lapped at the hem of his shorts.

When she looked up at him again, there was a new heat in her eyes and a little more color had seeped into her face, most especially around her cheeks and lips. Her lips slowly curved up into a smile, and before she could help herself, she looked down to his lips, set into such a serious line, which was appropriate given the circumstances but also damn sexy. "If I had known you'd actually save my life and we'd end up in this position, I might have jumped in willingly," she finally murmured, huskiness replacing the gruffness in her voice. Though she was one-hundred precent seriously, her eyes danced in a teasing manner.

She looked a little like a drowned cat; her curls were nearly completely straightened and curving very gently against her face and shoulders, clinging to her arms and – thankfully – her breasts. Some were even stuck to him. Even though she was upright and breathing fresh air, she squeezed his wrists hard and he found he was supporting much of her weight, like she was unwilling or unable to stay up alone. Her eyes seemed almost too big for her face like luminous orbs that she stared at him with in utter surprise at first then her expression slipped seamlessly from astonishment to downright trouble once again. She crinkled her nose and she was back to that sassy, sinfully sexy criminal he someone was unable to elude no matter how hard he tried.

It was almost as if the harder he tried to get away from her, the more he found himself mixed up with her again.

A flippant comment came out of her, naturally, and his brain took a step back to think about what she'd said. Well. There was no denying that aside from the whole rescue part, this was a damning situation for them to be in, all practically pressed together with nothing but a pair of cargo shorts separating them from being skin to skin.

And he didn't miss the way she undressed him with her eyes… not there was much to undress really. She looked like… like she was about to eat him alive.

He reallllllly needed to get away from her before his mind starting reasoning out why he should let her.

"I don't recommend willingly tossing yourself in water at the sight of a naked man. Damsel in distress doesn't look good on you," he grinned back at her, taking a stab as to why she could have possibly falling off the rock and using humor as his saving grace against her, "Now, come here."

He dragged her the rest of the way out of the water until she was capable of stumbling along after him and right to wear he dumped his shirt earlier. Being diligent about not getting too close a look at her, especially because her hair was starting to dry and curl, he flipped the shirt over her shoulders and closed it around her. It offered barely enough visual barrier, coming just underneath the curve of her ass. He wondered if just seeing a tease of skin was helping or hindering his cause.

She should have been embarrassed by his comment, or at least feel an inkling of shame for doing something as stupid as falling into water at the sight of a naked man, but honestly, his sass only brought a wide grin to her face.

As he started dragging her out of the water, finally allowing some energy to seep back into her, she said, "You're right, it's definitely not my thing, but like I always said...I'll try anything once." The smile on her face turned wicked and her eyes glinted with teasing heat as they came to a stop on the mossy bank where he'd left the rest of his clothes. Still feeling a little drained from the lagoon, she just stood there as he picked up at shirt.

It was probably the lingering effects of the water that made her brain unable to connect the dots with what he was about to do with his shirt. Forget that her own clothing was only yards away, he straight-up did the gentleman thing and put his shirt around her sopping shoulders. The gesture was such a surprise, especially considering that the majority of dudes she hung around were definitely _not_ gentlemen, that she continued to remain stock still.

Her eyes flickered downwards as she absently pulled the lapels together, mostly for his benefit rather than her own, and when she looked back up at him there was a strange softening in her blue eyes. A gentled expression, yes, but also a heated one. Even though she knew this absolutely wasn't, for some reason this moment struck her like a date. A date gone horrible wrong and yet still thoroughly enjoyable.

They were still facing each other, standing a mere two feet apart, and Rouge took an involuntary step forward. Her gaze dropped from his green one to his lips, still moist from the water he'd just dragged her out of. The unmistakable urge to kiss this man rose up in her chest so suddenly and strongly that she forgot that he was a marine, forgot even that she had planned to seduce him in the first place. She was acting on pure instinct, bolstered by his gentlemanly gesture with the shirt, as she tilted her head back and to the side. She leaned up into him, closing the gap between them to a mere half a foot. She was moving slowly, as if in a trance, and indeed his very presence seemed to have put a spell on her from the beginning.

If he were to mentally step back from this bizarre relationship he was having with the Dragon Smuggler, he'd be hard pressed to deny that there wasn't something there. At every turn, they were thrust together by chance and circumstance. He'd even once gone as far to let the thought cross his mind that she was _his_ criminal. He may or may not have admitted something like that around the time he concluded that turning her in as Portgas D. Rouge would fuck over this cat-and-mouse chase they had.

 _Keep your friends close_ _…_ _enemies closer_

Where was the line? It seemed like he was, for the first time in his life probably, having a hard time distinguishing just where the outlaw in her dropped off and the woman began. It was a constant struggle between trying to censor his relationship with her and cave to her and crush his mouth over hers. It was so hard because he couldn't ever pin down exactly where she stood. She just exuded so much sexuality that she was the reason he blurred that line between business and pleasure. She seemed to find the two interchangeable.

It just made this _very_ confusing for him.

Her eyes did that flicker thing again where they moved from his eyes down and all that succeeded in doing was making his nerve-endings hyper aware of the lack of space between them. And she immediately compromised what little breathing room he had by closing the gap. She had to tip her head back to keep looking up at him and on reflex, he tilted his own head back to compensate.

He knew this position. He'd been on the receiving end enough times to feel it coming on and for a moment, he was frozen as he went through the mental juggle. _Business, pleasure_ _…_ _business, pleasure_ _…_

His business side won out and he took a step back from her with a breath and ruffled his hands through his hair, spraying her with water and successfully both breaking the moment and drying his scalp, "Be careful, Dragon," he said, purposely using her 'stage name' to create that distance between them mentally and for his own sanity, "or I might think you were trying to compromise me."

As droplets of his hair speckled on her face, she wrinkled her nose at him again and sighed, then sexual tension leaving her body in a rush as the moment was lost. Still, despite the step back he took, she'd seen the indecision in his eyes. She'd seen him hesitate...and that was all she needed.

It told her that even if he was resisting...he _did_ want her.

A smile curved her lips and she shrugged her shoulders, turning away from him. She started for her own clothes, aware that she was putting a little more strut to her step than usual and grinning unabashedly at it. Luckily her back was to him and hid the way her smile looked like a patient cat after letting the mouse go free.

"And if I am? You've got a hot bod and this little game between us totally flips my switches...Then you go and save me?"

Her hands flipped out to the sides as she gave another little shrug. "What's a girl to do but swoon at your feet? Besides...I'm pretty sure you would enjoy me in a compromising position, especially if it involves you."

This time she let him see her sassy grin that she tossed over her shoulder. Simultaneously, she arrived near her clothing and shrugged out of his shirt, letting the material billow to the ground around her feet. Moving unhurriedly, she leaned down to pick up her garments and started putting them on, pulling her mass of hair over one shoulder as she did.

"Thank you, by the way...for saving my life." Her voice lost it's teasing tone and became more serious, unusual for her. She turned her face to look at him, and all traces of humor were gone from her delicate features. "I don't take things like that lightly...Nor do I forget them."

She let her eyes linger on him for a moment before she leaned down to pick up the backpack she'd brought with her. She tossed it towards him, then settled her hands on her hips. "I've brought you some more food, a few other little nicknacks, and also a pad of paper and pen, just in case you run out of things to do and feel like doodling me a nice picture." Her grin was back now, her white teeth flashing as she pulled her hair up into its customary messy bun.

The next few days passed in relative quiet. He decided that it was kinda a relief, just to have a little space from her. His brain needed the break. Everything about her just screamed sex; every action, the swish of her hips, the crinkle of her nose. Her sass was going to be the end of him because every word out of her sinful mouth was a sexual innuendo or a double entendre. It just kept him on constant alert, his body running on high as it felt like his every waking moment was spent thinking about her. It was nice to focus on other things during the day than her and he filled his time with his morning workout, scoping the island a little bit and occasionally, she would show up with a gourmet lunch and a board game and they'd play checkers or Go or Mah-jong.

It was during these clips of game play that he found he learned the most about her. Sure, he'd learned plenty during their first back-and-forth when he'd first woken up in the jungle, but that was almost scripted in comparison to what he learned over a game of checkers. And what they talked about didn't result in the other analyzing the information to see if there was any way to use it against them later.

He learned that she and her mother were very close to the Straw Hats, visiting constantly and staying in very close communication. He learned that she was the oldest of the Mugiwara 2nd Gen, with Monkey D. Ace second. He learned that she was _insanely_ good at checkers. She enjoyed sunbathing naked. And the most important and dangerous thing he learned about her was that despite every other word out of her mouth was about sex, behind that sassy, cheeky façade, it was easy to make her laugh.

He wondered that if they each had been dealt a different card in life, she would be someone he might have tried to go out with. And that was so very bad.

Most of the time however, he was alone with his thoughts. And when his workout was over and board games were won, he took advantage of that pad of paper she'd left him and started making a map of the island. Now, he was no navigator or mapmaker; he hired people to do that for him, but he was a complete dolt either. He started with the coastline, marking where it was hard to walk over, where the rocks were, where boats and ships could feasibly dock. He penciled in Rouge's mountain cliff cave, or at least right around where he thought it was near the coast. He drew the lagoon and the river and the non-active volcano crater.

But mapping didn't hold his attention for long. He wished that he had a gun or something to tinker around with, but he wasn't allowed a knife to whittle wood, let along something with speeding projectiles. He settled with doodling guns and parts and making extravagant weapons on paper.

The morning of the third day, he rolled out of his hammock for his morning jaunt. He was, frankly, starting to get some more sleep now. For the first two nights or so, he'd been on edge all night. Something about being kidnapped in your sleep right from your bed had damaging side-effects. But now, he was just starting to be able to sleep soundly without jerking awake and ready to kill someone at every sound. After all, he firmly believed that if she wanted him dead, him and Davy Jones would have already been having tea at the bottom of the ocean by now.

Since their arrival on the island, Rouge had been doing only minor workouts and training to keep her skills sharp. Part of it was out of laziness, but another part stemmed from the fact that she had been reluctant to put herself in such a compromising position while on the same turf as a potential enemy. But as the days had passed, she found it became more and more difficult to keep herself on guard around him. He seemed less and less like an enemy marine and more and more like a new friend.

She'd come to enjoy the time they spent together, especially when they were just playing checkers or another game and trading information about one another. She'd learned quite a bit about him, his dear mother, and his even dearer sisters. From the way he talked, she decided he would fit in well with her community of friends and family, if he weren't a marine, of course.

It made her wonder if liking him had anything to do with trusting him. Was he just playing her? Only time would tell.

Regardless, this morning she'd decided it was time for a full-blown workout. Her attire stayed the same, but her hair was now braided down her back in a long, thick cord that reached to the small of her back. Putting all of her necessary equipment into another backpack, she headed for the beach.

It was a sunny morning, with barely a cloud in the sky, and somewhat cooler than it had been of late. Perfect. As she finished her stretching routine, Rouge set up a small black box that had been a gift from her Uncle Franky. It was a music player, with recordings of different songs from both her uncle Brook and other artists she favored. She adjusted the volume toggle to as loud as it possibly went, then picked up the two weights she'd brought with her. Small in size, they each weighed fifty pounds.

Using her toe, she turned on the music, and a pumping beat soared into the air around her. A grin played at the edges of her lips, and she hefted the weights up as she moved away from the little black box.

Thus began what her father affectionately referred to as her boogie workout. Combining acrobatic routines from her aunt Tikka with boxing and kicking moves taught to her by her uncles Luffy and Sanji, Rouge began to dance. She'd found, a long time ago, that if she had music and dancing as a motivator, she could workout for hours. At first it had just been dancing, but then her family had started pitching in and showing her how she could combine her dancing with a training routine to sharpen her fighting skills. Her father, ever keen on ensuring his baby girl could defend herself, had loved the idea and had even joined her a couple of times. The dancing and music gave her the energy to repeat the various techniques over and over and over, often in different positions or in various combinations until her body remember the moves on its own.

With a grin on her face and her eyes dancing with robust energy, she kicked, punched, twirled, lunged, spun, and leapt her way into a dance routine to pounding rap and hip hop tunes.


	4. Chapter 4

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Lukas paused halfway to the ground in a push up, his ears pricking. He held himself still, listening intently. Was that… music he heard? Then, as if in confirmation of his thought, the beats suddenly skyrocketed and the birds from the trees took off in alarm. He could feel the bass in the ground below his hands and feet.

What the hell was she doing, trying to wake the dead?

He finished his rep, and surprised himself when his movements began to match to the rhythm of the music. Alright, he needed to find out just what she was doing that required the whole of the Grand Line to hear.

He followed the sound of the thumping rhythm to the shore and stopped short on the ridge when he saw her. The music was loud, yet with that loud-distance sound because of the outside environment. Had they been inside, it would have been enough to burst ear drums.

Which wasn't to say it wasn't invigorating. There were some killer soundtracks coming from that little black boom box she had set up in the sand. He recognized some of it as the Soul King's music – even some of the marines enjoyed his rock n' roll – but there were definitely some other voices he heard on there. And it was pounding against his rib cage and he could easily see why she chose these songs to choreograph to.

That was exactly what it looked like she was doing anyway. Dancing. Alright, she wasn't just dancing, he could definitely see some self-defense in there and some style techniques that she must have learned from Black Leg Sanji because no one else could kick like that and some acrobatics from Snow Rose Ratikka. He even caught some hand-to-hand in there too, possibly learned from Straw Hat Luffy. And that was all great and everything, but what really caught his attention was that she could _dance._ He thought maybe she'd said her mother was a great dancer; it didn't matter because Rouge was combining fighting techniques seamlessly with dance moves.

It was definitely a different take on how to work out. He was a classic gym rat.

Lukas slid down the embankment until he was right next to the boom box and deftly shut the music off with his toe. The silence was as deafening as the tunes had been and he smirked.

"Dancing's all fine and good to keep the body in shape," he started, crossing his arms over his bare chest, "But can you actually utilize any of it in a fight? The first rule they taught us in training was not to practice useless movements," if you trained the body to behave a certain way in an theoretically aggressive situation, when the time actually came to pull out the guns, you fall back on those basic movements that have been drilled into your brain. There was no point in learning anything that couldn't help you in a fight.

The music died as she was halfway through a high kick, and the sudden lack of sound threw her off to the point where she visibly wobbled for a moment before catching her balance once more. Once she was no longer in danger of face-planting, Rouge spun around on the music thief to see Lukas lounging casually in the sand by her music box.

She scowled at him. A tick of irritation started up in her jaw and her eyes narrowed as she studied him in silence. His tone of voice implied that all of her movements were just for show, and of the many things that pushed her to show her temper, not taking her fighting ability seriously was at the top. For years when she'd been younger, none of her uncles or aunts would take her seriously about her desire to learn to fight in order to fulfill her dream of being a free soul on the ocean. It had taken years of nagging to finally get her father to take her seriously.

Ever since then, she'd defended her battle skills zealously.

As she controlled her temper, especially considering the smug little look on his face, her scowl was slowly replaced with a cool smile. Her eyes flickered from his face to the music box and then back, and her usual gleam of wicked delight came to life.

Out of nowhere, she suddenly shot forward, moving so fast she almost disappeared. She reappeared with her fist half an inch from his face, crouching over him with one leg extended out to the side in a graceful position that left her toe hovering right over the music box. Her other fist was planted in the ground next to her, supporting her torso and leaving her feet more available for kicks.

"Would you like to see for yourself, master of fighting?" she asked in a half dry, half amused tone. "Or did you interrupt my workout just to smile smugly like that?"

She grinned, flicked his nose with the hand hovering by his unprotected face, dropped her toe to start the music up again, then gracefully and seamlessly swung her leg back and around. Moving so fast her movements were a blur, she dropped her weight into the shoulder of the hand she had planted in the ground and used the extra leverage to bring her foot full circle and aimed right for his face. With the position she was in, should he block she would easily be able to roll down and out to engage him.

He knew he irritated the shit out of her when the tic started in her jaw. He couldn't help it. He _lived_ to irritate her. Just tickled him pink.

Then she smiled and moved like lightning, dropping to the ground and stopping her fist a scant inch from his face. He didn't so much as blink. It'd been a long fight since he had a decent sparring partner. Not that he thought she would pose much of a challenge, but she was a different opponent than he was used to so it would spice things up a bit.

"Sure," he agreed as she turned on the music, "Let's see if you can keep up."

The rhythm pounded hard against his ears so close to the box as he was, but that didn't stop him from being able to block the kick that came up to his left. He casually lifted his hand to catch her at the ankle and let her roll away and out. Then, he stood and stretched out his neck and arms. This was gonna be a fucking cakewalk. He was a prodigy among the marines; the youngest vice admiral in history and fluent with two forms of Haki. Weaponry was his best suite and he'd had loads of training in recon, but hand-to-hand was something he simply excelled at. He was best in class. No arrogance, simply fact.

He relaxed his psyche and let his Kenbunshoku Haki take over or as it was more commonly called the 'Color of Observation' Haki. He could sense the presence of others nearby and because he had been viciously trained, he could successfully predict the movements of his opponent.

He raised his hand and curled his fingers at her in a 'come hither' motion and a wicked, cocky smirk on his face, "Well, ladies first," he grinned. Already, he was getting a feel for what her first move was going to be.

Her eyes sparkled. They were glowing with excitement, her excitement and delight in pure battle so evident that it radiated off her, very similar to Monkey D. Luffy. She bounced lightly from foot to foot, as if she couldn't contain the energy that came boiling up through her at the start of a true, honest fight.

"Babe I just can't _wait_ to pin that sexy bod of yours in this hot sand," Rouge said with a wolfish grin and a glint in her eye as she suddenly couched low, and shot forward. She came with a left hook to his jaw, but somehow he managed to evade her almost blinding speed. Her brows knit together very slightly, and her mind kicked into gear, a gift bestowed upon her by her mother and aunts.

Deciding to give him slack for the boring block and wait maneuver, Rouge gave him a droll smile, then made another attempt. She suddenly leapt up in a high flip that brought her heel soaring down to his face, and once against he ducked out of the way and danced just out of reach.

This happened another two times, and finally Rouge stopped. She cocked her hip to the side and planting her fists on her hips. "Jeeze Marine. Can you get any more BORING? Like your _mantara_ intimidates me or something?"

She mentioned the haki ability to predict movements, but didn't say that she knew exactly how to deal with this type of haki, thanks to her esteemed pirate king uncle. She pinned Lukas with a severe eye, pointed an elegant finger at him. "Fight back, you lilly liver." She insulted him, because that's what you did in a fight. She learned from the best, after all.

Then she attacked again, moving in blurring speeds for a kick to the face.

He was fucking with her.

She was as easy to read as a book and though she took her time, all that did was just give him the extra heads up as she carefully thought out a complex pattern of moves hoping to confuse and overpower him. No such luck. At every turn, he twitched and contorted and ducked and dodged to avoid her every attack.

Though, he supposed that eventually, she wouldn't like to continue that way. She didn't seem like the type to have that long of any attention span. But _lilly liver_? She couldn't come up with anything more creative than that?

He shrugged, "Fine. You asked for it. Don't go getting all pissy when I kick your ass, sister."

Her kick came up and around and he spun and ducked out of firing range and saw the next move coming before she executed it and moved again accordingly, nimbly evading. But he didn't stop there this time and instead went for the opening. Optimally, he could have punched her right in the kisser and ended this whole thing, but instead he simply flicked his hand and tapped her cheek before deftly moving back and into a one handed back hand spring away from her.

"Point," he said with a grin when he was vertical again.

And thus began his taunting. Sure, he could have put in more effort, overpowered her and just demolished her, but he got a kinda sadistic pleasure in completely humiliating her and baiting her like it was his job. He continued with his evade and dodge, but instead of leaving it at that and always getting away from her, he purposely went in for the openings. First was the tap on the cheek. Next, he got behind her and tugged her thick braid. Then, he flicked her nose. Each time he could have delivered a devastating blow. And each time, she seemed to get more aggravated with him and he _loved it_. Nothing like pissing off your opponent to make things more interesting.

He decided she was a very interesting fighter, to say the least. She was extremely well-versed in using both her hands and feet. And she relied a lot on her flexibility and agility. From what he could see, the speed in which she moved made up for the disadvantage in power that high kicks had. Fast hurt more than power. Getting jabbed with the pointy end of a stick was far more painful than getting whapped by one. Zoan fruit aside, her physical body size could only offer so much power. She really made up for it in agility.

And though he didn't stop to really think about it that much, the kind of skill she had required daily training. Did she see the Straw Hats that often to merit acquiring their skills or was her mother a fighter too?

She came at him with a one-two-three combination followed by a hook kick and he dodged her yet again, this time ducking and spinning underneath her kick and pinching her waist in a ticklish manner before popping back out to face her.

"What's wrong? Don't like my countering?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

When the counterattacks came, Rouge was relieved and excited for some actual combat, but then he stared fucking with her. Instead of serious attempts, he poked fun at her, taking the combat lightly. He was acting like an arrogant prig, in her opinion.

Her eyes narrowed as she came to a stop a few feet away from him, not even breaking a sweat. Her eyes gleamed with annoyance and also speculation. It was a speculative gleam like a predator figuring out the stupid trick her prey was using.

"You fucker," she muttered under her breath, then started grinning. She bounced on the balls of her feet and cracked her neck. "Alright, you wanna play ball with me big boy? Fine." Her voice was a purr of satisfaction and grim anticipation.

Then she disappeared. She reappeared on his left in a speed punch to his face, then suddenly vanished again and reappeared directly in front of him. It suddenly became obvious that she wasn't aiming. Not at all. She was just punching and kicking in his general direction with all of her force and will, but not even looking or paying attention to where.

And therefore eliminating much of the will her used to read her movements.

Within two attacks, her foot made solid contact with the back of his head as she appeared to his side and lashed out in a _ballet_ pirouette. Her dancing was not fighting, and as she poured speed and strength into the salsa, hip hop, and jazz movements she became a lethal whirlwind of jabs and kicks.

As he went down, hard, into the sand, Rouge bounced back with a grin. "How'd that feel, handsome?" she purred.

The biggest problem with relying on 'Color of Observation' Haki was that it wasn't infallible. It could be beaten, or at least worked around. There was a couple of different ways to do this: one, be faster than the other person and therefore negating their ability to keep up. Two, tie that person down. You couldn't defend it even if you could see it coming. Or three, not think.

Now, the not thinking part is hard because you have to have a particular personality that allowed you to just go on instinct rather than logical give and take. Or be a raging lunatic. Or, in what he later assumed must be the Dragon's case, grow up training with people that could predict your every movements. You learn to get creative.

It didn't even cross his mind that she was capable of thwarting his Haki. He was a professional. But when she came at him with all these kicks and punches that had no aim behind them and no intention as to where they were going to land, he became blinded. And what he did see in his mind's eye was dance moves and just as the connection between why she chose to mix fighting with dance clicked, he heard the sound of foot hitting skull and registered he was going down into the sand.

He tucked and rolled over his shoulder and back up on his feet to face her, the back of his head smarting from her contact. Alright. Looked like he needed to actually try now. She knew how to get around the Haki, so it was time to really get serious. He'd once told her that when it came down to brute strength, he would best her. And he believed that. Even in her hybrid form, she would just be on par with his strength.

But he wasn't looking to destroy her; he just wanted the upper hand to pin her.

"Felt good, gorgeous," he replied, "Means you're actually worth my time to fight. I was worried there for a minute… chasing you around the globe is fun, but eventually I would catch up and we'd have to fight. It's reassuring to know it won't be as easy as I thought."

He charged her. He'd been in the marines a long time, solid seventeen years and before that, he'd had a little training in defense and had his fair share of a scrappy fight. But the real bulk of his ability came from hours upon hours and days upon days of training. Hell, he'd had more fighting time than she'd been alive. Almost. Training, fighting, sparring and working out had been his blood and oxygen and how he achieved his seat of power in the ranks.

So when push came to shove, he always came out on top.

It became apparent within moments that defense was not her strong suit. He kicked her a little too hard in the solar plexus, having no reason to believe that he'd actually make contact and when she went stumbling back, he almost pulled up short. But she came raging back at him like, well, a dragon and their fight began in much more earnest. She shocked the hell out of him with her demonstration and skill with Busoshoku Haki, or 'Color of Arms' Haki and created that invisible shield around her that prevented some of his best moves from hitting her. Which was fortunate for her because he noticed that like her trainers the Straw Hats, she was more apt to take the hit and come back rearing to go than defend against it.

Lukas made a mental note to help her with her defense. Busoshoku Haki, like the other forms, was not by any means a fail-safe.

Then again, why should he help his enemy accomplish anything? As soon as she let him off the island, he would pursue her and if he taught her to cover all her weaknesses, where did that leave him?

It had been so long since he really fought anyone with skill anymore that he'd forgotten what it felt like to feel that thrill up his spine, the adrenaline rush, the pure excitement. It wasn't like he was jonesing for sparring partners when only a handful of people in the military matched or exceeded his skill level. But the combination of her sheer will and the surprise of an affinity with Haki made her _fun_ to fight. Fighting wasn't _fun_ anymore. She entertained him. The speed in which they attacked, the defense, the offensive, the give and take and of course those dance moves she incorporated made it nearly impossible to predict her movements. He couldn't even predict his own; he was running on instinct and muscle memory.

The challenge was great.

A few minutes in – or maybe more than that, he wasn't keeping track – he started to get a handle on her patterns, where she defended and her holes in her defensive line up. When she couldn't block him with her body, she used to Haki to keep him away and blocking wasn't her strong suit so she'd take the hit then come back on defense.

He faked her out a couple of times, baiting her to do what he wanted. She wasn't dumb, that he knew and he saw the exact moment when she realized what he was up to. He faked the punch-kick combo one more time and she blocked exactly like he was hoping; the punch-kick combo was a guise for the aerial kick. She blocked for the aerial kick, seeing right through him and that was exactly what he wanted. He feinted the aerial kick, but instead went lower. Blocking for that kick left her wide open and he slammed his foot hard right into the back of her hamstring. No Haki stopped him this time and she went down onto her knee like a stone. He used that as his opportunity to take her down and pin her to the sand.

"Gotcha," he grinned, breathing a little quick.

This was fun. Really fun.

Their fight continued to escalate, and Rouge couldn't get enough of it. She lived for the thrill of battle, the adrenaline rush, the exchange of blows. In hand-to-hand, which was her preferred method, Rouge fought just like Luffy. She was tenacious and never gave up. But beyond that, she had her fathers wits and her own natural flexibility that gave her a different kind of edge than the sheer willpower that allowed the Pirate King to plow through his enemies.

As she hit the ground and then became pinned under Lukas' substantial weight-pure muscle, from what she'd been able to gander from their exchange at the Lagoon-Rouge's grin only got bigger.

"Babe, if only I could get you to do this to me more often, then I think we'd get along much better," her eyes twinkled with suggestive humor and her teeth flashed. "It would be even more fun if you'd done this back at the lagoon the other day! Oh, wait...you practically did."

She giggled with amusement, enjoying her teasing and taunting, but then she got serious. Her expression stayed the same except for the glint in her eye that meant trouble. Lukas was indeed stronger than her, but she was far too wily to be caught so easily. Her flexibility and sheer wiggle-power made it almost impossible to pin her. What was more, they were in sand, and sand made it even easier for her to get away.

Using her legs and twisting her torso at almost impossible angles-dragons had hollow but extremely strong bones that were very flexible, adding to her own bend-ability-Rouge managed to slip out from under him. She didn't give him a moment to breath, however, and immediately leapt in on him, pulling out her grappling skills.

They were in close quarters, flesh to flesh, as limbs and torsos met and separated in a battle between strength and flexibility. He was stronger, but she was almost impossible to pin down with how easily she managed to slip out of his grip. Finally Rouge was able to use her thigh behind his knees to bring him down into the sand, her hand at his throat. He hit the ground with a thump, and instantly she was on top of him, straddling his hips and pinning his arms down by his sides.

Rouge had wanted this match to be all natural, in her human form, but considering his brute strength at such a close proximity, and the fact that she _really_ wanted to keep her upper hand, she decided to shift. It was the only way to keep him there when they had such a difference in power. In the blink of an eye, glossy black scales rippled over her flesh, and her pupils narrowed into slits.

With a savage grin that revealed her sharpened canines, she used the heightened strength she got from her hybrid form to keep him pinned down in the sand, her face mere inches above his own as she used her torso to help keep him down. By now she was almost panting, and their breaths mingled together in front of her face.

"As much as I love having you on top of me...I like to be on top too," she said with a wink. "And it looks like I'm top dog right now, marine. But you put up an excellent fight. I haven't had this much fun in a very long time. You certainly got me...riled up...you could say."

Her eyes said much more. She couldn't help it; fighting a hot dude was a major turn on, and she didn't bother to hide the fact that she was aroused. Their faces were so close and Rouge suddenly decided that now was the perfect moment to make her first move. But she couldn't just jump him...she needed to get _him_ to jump _her_.

She let her face drop another inch, until their lips were dangerously close, and murmured, "Don't lie to me, marine...you enjoy getting hot and dirty with me." Her eyes flickered from his eyes down towards his lips then back up, practically daring him to do it.

He didn't even have time to enjoy his victory before she slithered out from underneath him, contorting her body in ways he didn't think was humanly possible. He tried to pin her again, tried to use his weight to his advantage but it proved futile. It looked as if they had choreographed this dance of arms and flexing and tensing of bodies as they each fought for dominance. In the end, she somehow managed to hook her leg around his thighs and flip them over.

And damn her, she cheated. He watched half fascinated half pissed off as she morphed into her hybrid form. Like her skin was flipping over like coins, turning all the flesh except for the stretch under her breasts down to her hips into those tough blue black scales. Little horns peeked out from her hair and when she gave him that wicked grin, her canines were just a little longer.

And her physical strength probably tripled, enough so that he was caught between, almost literally, a rock and a hard place.

Her commentary made him smile, matching that devilish grin she made famous, "I do enjoy girl on top," he replied, scrambling a little against her hold and trying to dig his heels into the soft sand. That is, until she pressed her weight forward, smashing her breasts against his bare chest and bringing her face a scant inch away from his. Needless to say, all struggling ceased as a tingle shot through him.

When she spoke, it wasn't just her smooth voice that made him feel like he'd been too close to an electrical circuit, but the fact that her mouth was so dangerously close to his that he could feel them moving against his at her words.

She was so sinfully tempting and he knew that she was baiting him, lingering so close to him. It was flirting with disaster, dancing around the edges with her. That's all it had been for days, weeks even. Just this ballet of scandalous teasing; she a criminal, he a man of justice and law and both of them wanting what they couldn't, shouldn't have. She was absolute faux pas for him, taboo. And he knew that, knew what the consequences would be should he mix business with pleasure.

He had a moral code to uphold: to be dispassionate about outlaws. To hold any sort of emotion towards them whether they are anger or lust blinded you to the right course of action. In that moment, he was completely blinded by her as the line blurred and all it came down to in the end was she was a woman and he was a man.

Lukas had managed to free one of his arms during his bit for freedom and instead of using it to push her away, he used it to grab her by the nape of her neck and close that mere inch of a gap between them. He slashed his mouth over hers, finally claiming the mouth he literally dreamed about. She tasted like fire and sin and smelled like ocean and sex. God, sex. It was such trouble for him how much she fired all his switches.

The adrenaline rush that swept through him lent him the power he needed to free himself from her pin and in turn flip them both over so that she was sandwiched between his body and the sand. This type of desperate situation didn't call for shyness and hesitation. They were pressed together from hip to shoulder and he swept his tongue beyond her lips to taste her.

She should have felt surprise when he snapped and pulled her head down to close the gap between their lips, but instead only a deep and satisfying warmth spread over her. Finally. From the first moment she'd laid eyes on his gorgeous face, all she'd wanted to do was kiss him. Since then, that desire had only gone up as she'd learned how interesting he was.

She couldn't count the number of times she'd wondered how good of a lover he'd be, taking in mind all of his other considerate skills and abilities. And she'd been right-just from his scorching kiss alone, she knew he'd be a master between the sheets.

The thought sent a shiver of excitement racing down her spin to mingle with the heat already flickering through her veins. Her eyes slid shut and she kissed him back, crushing his lips with her own. Rouge was so into kissing him that she let him get the upper hand again as he flipped them over. In fact, the action only sent more lustful butterflies soaring through her stomach, and her smile and wrinkled nose was obvious against his lips.

Out of the many positions she'd forced them to be in, this one was by far her favorite so far, she had to say. Feeling his hot and hard body pressing her down into the sand was incredibly sensual, and she couldn't help herself as she writhed and wiggled against him, pressing her breasts and hips up against him with insistent need. Rouge had taken a few men to her bed in her life, and the one thing she heard most often from her lovers was that she was a _passionate_ woman in bed. She held nothing back once she decided to release the floodgates on her desire.

With her hands free, she reaching up and burrowed one clawed hand into his hair to hold his lips to hers while her other hand slid over his shoulder and down his back in a slow caress, lightly dragging her dragon claws over his skin with just enough pressure to leave a faint red mark.

Her tongue dueled with his and her tasted like heaven; warm, rich, manly. His scent filled her sensitive nostrils, and he smelled like clean soap and warm spices. It was a titillating combination of scents that only kicked her heat up a notch.

As their kiss continued to spiral hotter, Rouge's hand continued to slide down his back, and as she reached the hem of his shorts, she didn't even hesitate. The tips of her fingers slid under the material and brushed over the smooth skin of his ass. Deciding she could really hurt him with the bells and whistles her hybrid form gave her, she shifted back to her human form and dug her fingernails into his butt as she pulled him tight against her hips, grinding mercilessly up against him. She wanted to seduce him, after all, and kissing just wasn't going to cut it.

Being a marine by its social stigma, there were a lot of women to be had. Not that he had an exorbitant amount, but he was by no means a prude. He'd run the track with some colleagues when he was a younger man and then, of course, since his disastrous fail at a full time committed relationship, he'd tried his hand at women again.

Nothing compared to the fire he felt with the Dragon. And it was both unnerving and exhilarating.

Kissing her was probably the worst decision he'd made in a long time in regards to his health. She reacted in the way that didn't surprise him, but certainly floored him. It was the way a wind storm meets a fire storm and a conflagration gets started. Or maybe a more accurate way to describe it would be like a junkie gets that taste of heroine after a long bout of rehab. The sober life just couldn't compare to the high and that's what she exactly was; she was his high.

He'd also found a new sexual fantasy as those dragon claws of hers scratched through his scalp and dug in his shoulder blades. It was a painful pleasure that shot a shiver through his blood. For a brief, scalding moment, he considered the possibility of how easy it would be strip her of those tiny shorts she was wearing and really put her through her paces. As it was, when she dragged her hands all the way down his spine and right underneath the loose hemline of his shorts, his whole body tensed and his skin tightened with heat. His lungs did a little giddy up in his chest, stuttering a little as she rubbed her body against his and forced his hips right into the cradle of hers.

Somehow, he was able to keep some modicum of sanity and that was what pulled him away from the edge he was dangerous close to tumbling over with her. He braced his hands in the sand and popped away from her, his breathing unsteady at best. He couldn't do this. What the hell was he thinking? This was exactly the type of situation he needed to _avoid_ with her.

"Sparring's over," he rumbled, standing and dusting the sand of him with shaking hands. He was hot and bothered and that pissed him off that he lost control like that with her.

Without looking at her, he rubbed his face and turned tail to get the hell off that beach. He'd sated his curiosity for her; that was it. No more. He needed to put some space between them pronto. God damn… as the sand ended and his feet met soft lush jungle floor, he knew he was going to have a killer time forgetting what her body felt like against his, the way she kissed, how _hot_ she was.

The cool air that suddenly _wooshed_ in as Lukas popped up and off of her was highly unpleasant in comparison to what she'd had before, and a brief grimace slipped over her features. After all, she'd been so close to some hot and heavy marine action, but now it looked like her chance was over.

Her marine was chickening out.

She let out a rueful sigh and sat up in the sand, a crooked smile on her lips. Although he was studiously avoiding her with his eyes, she did no such thing and watched him with eyes that still held a lingering heat from their encounter, but also a bit of a teasing glint.

"I look forward to our next match! I might even let you pin me again!" Rouge called to him as he strode away from her. She got no response, but she wasn't expecting one, and as he practically stormed into the jungle, the giggle she'd been holding back bubbled up and she let herself fall back into the sand.

This was a good thing, even though she would have loved to continue their...sparring. If he was running it was because he wanted it too much. If he was really in control around her, being such a confident and capable man that he is, he would have seen this through. But he left. He was scared of her, scared of the temptation of her.

A wicked grin played over her lips. She felt confident that before they got off this island, he would her hers.

Rouge didn't see hide or tail of Lukas over the next couple of days. He was obviously avoiding her, and she made no effort to get in his face either. She wasn't stupid-she knew that if he didn't play her cards right, she'd scare him right into a lock-down, and then she would never get him in her bed. No, she had to take it slow with him. There were two sides to Lukas: the serious marine and the more laid back _man_. She needed to get the man in him to step away from the marine, just for a short while. Just until things went in her favor.

But as the days passed, Rouge decided that her personal stores and the extra supplies she'd brought with them were not quite enough. Sure, they could resort to hunting and, even more abundant, fishing, but that was just not as tasty.

So three days after her sparring match with Lukas, Rouge decided to call in more supplies. She could call in one of her nakama, but the fewer people that knew she was there, the better. Not only that, she was sure they had actual work to do. No, there was only one option at this point.

"Sabo! Hey bro, how's it hanging?" Rouge spoke into the receiver of the den den mushi that was hidden on the island deep in her cavern. Lukas could never know about it, or else he would have a way to contact the outside world.

"Rouge! I haven't heard from you in forever! I'm good. What's going on?" her brother's voice came through the den den mushi, and an affectionate smile played over Rouge's lips.

"Well, I need you to ask Raion to do me a favor. I need some supplies brought over to my cache island and I know Luffy won't mind sending cuz' over here, since he's been here before. I need about a month's worth of food as well as some extra clothes and bathing suits for me. Also...could you have him bring a couple of dad's shirts and some of his shorts?"

There was a pause on the other line, then Sabo's voice came out of the den den mushi: "Dad's shirts...? Why do you need those?"

"None of your business, twerp. Just tell Raion to get his ass in gear. I want him here in within a week. Oh! And have him bring me more notebooks and pencils too. And if Uncle Brook came out with another song, I want that too."

"But, Rouge, why-"

"It was nice talking to you! Oh, and JUST Raion...Daddy would kill me if he found out you came here because of me." That was only partly a lie, since the real reason she didn't want him to come was because Lukas could never know he exists.

As Sabo started to complain more, Rouge rolled her eyes, shot him a quick farewell, then hung up on his whiny ass. With a grin and a shake of her head, Rouge went to go workout.

Raion leaned back on two legs of his chair, his head lolling back against the back rest. He whistled a tune as Sabo paced around the house, getting together a giant backpack of things.

"Soooo… tell me again why she wants man's clothes again?" he asked, slamming back down on four legs to pin his best friend with a bored look.

Sabo shrugged, "Fetish? Man, I don't know anymore with her. Maybe she has a boyfriend or something."

"And he doesn't have any clothes? It just doesn't add up."

Sabo didn't answer and Raion watched as he mentally went through the things he put into the backpack, muttering under his breath, "Bathing suits… clothes… food… notebooks…" he snapped his fingers and whirled around, "Did you bring the music?"

Raion nodded, "All on the ship."

"Great! Now let's boogie before the 'rents come back and the ossan sniffs out what we're doing." Sabo hauled the backpack over his shoulder, referring to Ace and his obsessive behavior about knowing where his children were. Raion felt bad for the kid. Luffy was lackadaisical about where Raion went. Considering he'd inherited all his mother's navigation skills, there wasn't anywhere he wasn't allowed to go for a few days at a time. Sabo on the other hand… he wasn't allowed to leave the island unless his parents brought him to the East Blue or Raion came to get him. And he was _only_ allowed to come to the East Blue.

And he was lucky at that. If Rouge had even _thought_ about leaving when she was his age, heads rolled.

"Ace-oji is gonna be _pissed_ if he finds out you are going to the cache island," Raion said as they took the back way to the marina to avoid any confrontation with said fire man.

"Well, she said and I quote 'JUST Raion'," Sabo pitched his voice higher to match Rouge's, "And the whole man's clothing thing. Dude, I've _got_ to know now what she's up to." One of the few things the siblings had in common; Mara's unabridged curiosity.

They climbed the ladder to the small ship that was called the Battle-Franky 107. It was the latest model of ship that was comfortable enough for a few people, but small enough to be manned by one person. And of course, tripped out with all the bells and whistles required to be able to get across the Calm Belt as frequently as Raion did.

And as far as Raion was concerned, this BF-107 was his until he was allowed to give Franky-oji the specks for his dream ship when he turned seventeen.

Sabo ducked into the cabin to put the backpack away while Raion unfurled the sail and powered up the cola engine.

"Oiiii! Dude!" Raion turned around to see Sabo peek his blonde spiky head out of the doorway, "Are these seriously crates of sake in here? What'd you do, raid Zoro-oji's stash?"

The son of the Pirate King grinned in such a way as he inherited from his mother, like a sneaky cat thief. Apparently, that was all the answer his best friend needed as he shook his head with a laugh.

A week went by since their sparring match and Lukas was happy to report that he was much more calm now about it. Granted, he still spent some restless, sleepless nights thinking about her sexy as all hell body and some cold showers underneath the waterfall in the lagoon, but he was relatively mentally sound now.

Because that was what he was chalking it up to; a fluke in judgment. The two of them had been dancing around each other, flirting mindlessly and it had just gotten a little out of control. He was back in control now. He'd tested out his curiosity of her and he was over it.

Though, he hadn't seen her for a week, so it was hard to gauge what he reaction to her would be. He was determined to keep it cool and professional. He wanted off this island, he was going to have to look for ways himself. He couldn't sit here and wait for her to trust him. All that was going to do was give him more time for interaction with her and well, that just wasn't going well for him. Less interaction, the better, which meant he needed to find his own way off.

And the opportunity presented itself finely just a week later.

Lukas was out scoping the island again, working on his map and brainstorming some ideas as to how to make his break when his Kenbunshoku Haki tingled. He froze. Normally, he was always aware of where the Dragon was and simply tuned her out, but this was different. There were more people on the island now.

Two people.

He stuffed his map and pen in his pocket and crept through the forest, silent as a shadow. He supposed it was bound to happen at some point; ships spot a deserted island in the distance and shore up for a little R and R. This was perfect. Opportunity was knocking. People on the island meant there was a ship somewhere. He wasn't a swell navigator, but if he could commandeer that ship, he could make it to the next island over and get out a call for the marines to come get his sorry ass. Ah, god, that would be so nice, to go back to his life…

He stopped and ducked behind a tree as he came up close to the two people. He could hear them walking, the sound of flip flops snapping and the even sound of sneakers. They must've really thought this island was deserted or else they wouldn't be making so much noise.

"It's hot as hell here!"

"I told you to wear shorts, dude. Jeans and sneakers are not practical for jungle-going."

They passed right by him and Lukas got a brief look at them through the foliage. Good lord, they were both teenagers, fifteen or sixteen years old and probably no taller that the Dragon was. One boy was lithe and narrow with golden blonde hair that stuck up straight and aquamarine eyes. He wore tight jeans, sneakers and a tee shirt. And the other was of the same height, yet a little bulkier, with a bandana over his dark hair. He had piercing, mischievous dark eyes that swept the forest around them. Between them, the carried a huge backpack.

Alright. So the plan to beat the snot out of the people and steal their ship changed immediately to 'rough up these kids a little and make them take me to the next island'. He morally didn't have what it would take to beat up a couple of kids.

"Hey!" Lukas called, stepping out from behind the trees. Both the boys stopped and whirled around, "Just where do you think you're going?"

The punk with the blonde hair made a face, "There's the reason for the man clothes," he said to the other. He looked really familiar. In fact, both the boys looked rather familiar, but there was no way that he could place them.

"You two came here in a ship, right?" Lukas growled, putting on his best intimidation as he marched up to the kids and grabbed them both by the fronts of their shirts and hauled them both off the ground.

"Hey! Back off, jackass!" Bandana kid yelled, lashing out with his fists. Lukas immediately knocked their heads together, not enough to injure them, but enough to jar them a little.

"Ow! What the hell!" Blondie grabbed his noggin.

"Your ship. Where is it?" Lukas repeated.

Not even a week had gone by when Rouge spotted the Battle Franky 107 on the western beach. The sight of it made her pull up short in surprise before she darted forward. It didn't take her long to figure out that Raion wasn't there.

She let out a growl of irritation and turned towards the forest. Her eyes darted down to the sand to see the tracks that had been made, and felt her heart drop into the vicinity of her stomach. There were two tracks in the sand. Two.

Sabo was here.

A brief flare of panic went through her. Lukas could NOT know who Sabo was. Sabo was proof that Ace had not died at the Marineford War. Rouge had been conceived before the war and so her existence wouldn't put her family at risk. But Sabo...

She had to find the boys before Lukas did.

Rouge took three running steps before she leapt up into the air and shifted mid-jump. Powerful wings beat down and scooped up the air, sending her soaring over the tops of the trees. She kept her speed down so that she wouldn't miss anything as she scanned the foliage for signs of her disobedient brother and wayward cousin.

She didn't realize that she'd been holding her breath in anxiety until she let it out in relief when she spotted a flash of bright blond hair. Her brother took after their mother in coloring, a blessing because if he had Ace's coloring he would be far too recognizable.

"I'm gonna throttle that boy..." she muttered under her breath. Her eyes narrowed and she shot for the trees, intending to grab his naughty ass and put him back on that ship and out to sea before Lukas even gets a chance to _see_ him. But as she approached the canopy and got a better look at the situation, her stomach completely dropped into her feet.

Lukas was already there. Not only that, but he had both boys up by the scruff of their shirts. As she watched, he knocked their heads together. She was too far away to hear what was being said, but the sight of her baby brother being roughed up instantly set her blood to boil.

Rouge was a fairly even tempered person. In fact, she normally pissed people off with how good natured she could be. However, when Rouge was pushed too far...Well, there was a reason she'd chosen a dragon.

Rouge's eyes narrowed dangerously. Threatening her family was a surefire way to get her unreasonably pissed off. Faster than the human eye could follow, Rouge disappeared in midair, and reappeared right beside Lukas, her wings unfurled, tail whipping from side to side, and her eyes blazing with pure rage. "Put. Them. Down." She demanded in a tight voice, and fire curled around the edges of her lips and teeth as she spoke, wisps of smoke furling out from her nostrils.

Without waiting for an answer, Rouge shot forward, linebacking Lukas while her tail whipped out and knocked the boys out of his grip, sending them flying to crash into the bushes nearby. As soon as she boys were out of his grip, she shifted again, and for the first time in his presence, took on her full dragon form.

Almost twice as large as her human form, the sleek black dragon with immense wings and dangerously sharp claws pinned the marine down to the ground with only one paw to his chest. Her narrow muzzle was shoved up in his grill, barely an inch from his face, and gleaming teeth appeared as she opened her mouth and growled, " _No_ one hurts my cousins and lives to tell about it."

It happened so fast. His Haki tingled, but what he saw in his mind's eye was so shocking that he didn't react immediately and instead fell victim to it. In an instance, the Dragon was there and he got a moment to take in her puffed up, downright infuriated expression, her blue eyes blazing like cold fire, the smoke furling out of her nostrils and mouth before the tail whipped up and tossed the runts headlong into some brush and Lukas found himself exactly as he'd seen with his Haki.

Facing down a 12-foot fully fledged dragon.

He wouldn't say that panic was his first emotion – he still believed that if she'd wanted him dead, she would have done it a long time ago and not wasted their time – but he would wager that he was most definitely overwhelmed. The tokage-tokage no mi, model: dragon was truly and impressive specimen. Blue black scales shimmered and shined along her back, shoulders and flank with a strip of deep blue flesh from her neck down along her belly to denote the soft spot. Cat-like strength and flexibility coupled with the rippling muscles that were easily five times his own strength.

That wasn't really the most overwhelming part. It was the fact that he had a giant dragon hand crushing against his chest with claws the size of his fingers and he was utterly and helplessly trapped like a mouse under a cat's paw. And teeth the size of daggers gleaming right in his face, smoke curling around him, choking him.

"Cousins?" he coughed, his hands reaching up automatically to wrap around the forearm, the scales smooth, hard and yet strangely soft. He turned his hand to glance at where the kids were. Bandana boy was kicking and clawing at the brush, cursing as he untangled himself and Blondie was calming parting the branches and leaves. Lukas did the eye flip between the Dragon and the kids, trying to add it all together, but he couldn't wrap his head around it.

Being pinned by a mythical creature did that to you.

"I thought that they were just… it doesn't matter what I thought…" he corrected, "Just… get off me, would ya?"

Raion managed to free himself from the bushes and laughed with awe when his brain caught up and figured out what happened. Rouge was pinning their bully down to the ground with one hand, her dragon form glistening menacingly. Beside him, Sabo sat up and grinned when he saw it too.

"Damn… she is just so badass!" Raion said what they were both thinking.

Sabo plucked a branch off Raion's head and held out his fist. Raion fist bumped him.

"Do you think she'll kill him?" Sabo asked, cool as a cucumber.

"Those claws could certainly make his entrails out-trails. And she looks good in red."

"You're gross."

Raion shrugged.

For another minute, she was still, pinning him to the ground with her large paw as smoke continued to furl from her nostrils. A low growl that almost sounded like a purr rumbled out of her throat, and her glowing blue eyes narrowed another fraction.

Her cousin and brother were potentially a weak point he could use against her, but part of her was sure that he would never do that to kids. Her gut feeling warred with common sense, but eventually the tension left her large body, and her sleek form settled more calmly. She didn't release him right away, however, and turned her head towards the bushes.

This time, there was a nasty glint in her eye and flames started to dance around her dragon lips again.

"You! I told _you_ to stay at HOME. Are you deaf? Do I need to clear your head for you?" Rouge demanded in a cold voice. "I'm already in the mood to spank someone."

Raion let out a rude snort of laughter at the obviously sexual innuendo of the statement, a pure guess considering how sexy her cousin was to many males on the ocean. She turned her glowing blue eyes on Raion and the slitter pupils narrowed even more dangerously, and Raion abruptly shut up.

"Well?!" She snapped, her head swinging back to the blond boy, who stiffened and suddenly sat up to attention. He looked nervously and sheepishly between Rouge and Raion and back, then shrugged his hands.

"I just...I was curious what you wanted d-those shirt's for! Come on, I get so _bored_ I needed to get out for a bit. Besides, I'm safe with Raion and it's not like we hit anything major between here and-"

"Alright!" Rouge interrupted, her voice loud in the dense jungle. She scowled once more, then abruptly shifted to her human form. She instantly shrank, her glossy black hair flowing out behind her, her smooth skin and peppery freckles reappearing. She was straddling him, one hand on his chest and the other planted next to his head.

She shot him a brief, heated smirk, then abruptly stood up, planting her hands on her hips as she stared down at him briefly. "Don't you worry about me and this island...I got it under control. My cousins are simply making a delivery, as per my order, so treat them with respect or I'll show you the meaning of hell."

Then with a sudden smile that bordered on icy and friendly, Rouge stepped away from him, and strode towards her boys. "Hungry? Let's go have a bar-b-q. Did you bring some meat seasoned by Unlce Sanji?" She asked, sudden excitement lacing through her voice as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, grinning.

They set up the barbeque near the lagoon in a fire pit that Lukas had made when he was bored. Lukas didn't say much, keen on just watching the Dragon interact with people she obviously seemed to care very deeply about. Bandana boy was introduced at Raion and Blondie was named Sabo. She didn't offer any further information about them, but that was her personality he'd come to figure. She was very secretive about her family.

Just by listening to them converse, Lukas started to gather information about them and the dynamic the three of them had. Raion was apparently a very skilled navigator from the way he talked about crossing the Calm Belt to get here. And had no fear about it either. Once he took off his bandana and wrapped it around his bicep, his appearance coupled with his sea faring ability and lack of fear for his age group, it immediately became apparent who his parents were.

The other boy, on the other hand, was an enigma. While even in the brief hour that Lukas had ever seen these boys in his life, he saw that Raion was quick to temper yet Sabo was very calm and relaxed. He appeared to be a roll-with-the-punches kinda kid and the flare in tempers from both Rouge and Raion didn't faze him in the slightest.

Neither of the boys asked Lukas about his reason to be here; he wasn't sure if that meant they had already been briefed as to his hostage situation or if they were too afraid of Rouge to even ask.

As the lot of them dug into their late lunch of meats and breads and vegetables, Lukas spoke for the first time.

"You're Straw Hat's kid," he said, addressing Raion, "I wasn't sure at first, but I'm convinced now. Monkey D. Ace. You know what the marines want for your head?"

Raion swallowed his food, "I have a bounty?"

"Not yet. We haven't been able to decide how much danger you pose yet, but it's arguably about 100 million beris at least."

The kid froze and snapped his eyes from his plate to Lukas, " _We?_ " he repeated, " _We_ as in the marines?" his face was an open book as the wheels turned in his head, "You're a god damned marine?" he peered closely as Lukas, "Wait a minute… I recognize you now…"

"He's a vice admiral," Sabo quipped casually, "Knowles Lukas."

"You KNEW?" Raion gasped.

Sabo gave him a droll look, "It wasn't too hard to figure out. Why _else_ would there be a man on Rouge's cache island, wearing borrowed clothes, attacking us looking to steal our ship? He's obviously a hostage." He glanced at the Dragon for confirmation before going back to eating, "And according to the papers, the Vice Admiral went missing a couple of weeks ago."

Raion stood up, leaving his plate on the ground, "That's it, we're outtie. Come on, Sabo."

"Sit down, kid, you're fine," Lukas cocked a brow at him.

"Don't tell me what to do, _marine…_ "

"Sit down, Raion," Sabo and Rouge said.

Raion's eyes flashed between them, before slowly sitting back down and continuing to eat.

Lukas turned his eyes to Sabo, narrowing them as he studied him, "You," he said, pointing his chosticks at him, "I can't figure out who you belong to though."

The brief nanosecond of stillness that went through the group was chilling before Raion started coughing and choking. Lukas gave him a curious look before the Dragon leaned over and thwapped the kid on the back, hard.

"Sorry, sorry!" he gasped, "Just ah… choked there for a minute…"

"I'm Sanji's kid," Sabo supplied.

Lukas wasn't expecting that for an answer, "Black Leg Sanji?" he repeated.

"Yep."

Huh. Odd. The marines only had intel that the Straw Hat Cook had one little girl. When he got back to his job, he might have to share that little tidbit, "You're ah…" he traced a swirl over his eyebrow, "Missing the eyebrow curl."

"I take after my mother."

"Thank _god_ ," Raion muttered.

Although she had a feeling that the boys wanted to stay longer, Rouge forced them to leave the following morning. She could tell the boys were insanely curious as to why she was holding a marine vice admiral prisoner on her cache island, but she kept her mouth shut and refused the volunteer the question. Sabo didn't ask, well aware that she was unlike to answer, but once Raion got comfortable with his surroundings and the marine, he got bolder and began pestering.

It ended with him getting his face punched in, and the subject wasn't renewed.

Once the boys were on their way, with _strict_ instructions not to tell anyone what they'd seen, Rouge had spent the day putting away their supplies, providing him with more clothing and essentials. She'd also provided him with more paper and pencils. Then their routine had been renewed, and the tension from the past week had been broken. For that reason she was somewhat grateful for the boys; at least now he wasn't avoiding her.

It was the next day that the first storm hit. Tropical island occasionally had to deal with weather like that, since hurricanes and such were created by the warm currents mingling with the colder currents. Rouge had forgotten that they were getting closer to the hurricane season, and, feeling back that all Lukas had was a hammock and trees for cover, left her cave in her hybrid form carrying a rolled-up canvas under her arm. Battling the winds, she struggled through the pouring rain until her keen eyes found the gap in the trees that signified the clearing around the waterfall.

Staying in the trees, using her tail for balance and for grasping limbs when the wind buffeted her, Rouge secured the canvas over where his hammock was in a wide ten, making such to angle the sides downward to allow the water to wash away from where he would sleep. Once done, she'd leapt back up into the raging winds, and returned to her cave, soaked through.

Feeling like she'd earned her good karma for the day, Rouge stripped off her wet clothing and went to bed.

The following morning was absolutely gorgeous, with skies so blue that it was almost surreal, and not a cloud to be seen to obstruct the bright sun. This was often the case after a rain storm, and Rouge grinned big as she stared out across the toasty, sunny beach.

Today was too nice of a day to go to waste, so true to form, Rouge gathered up a book, a large towel, and made herself a drink with some of the fruit juice and liquor that the boys had brought her. Then she found herself a perfect sunny spot in the sand, and sunbathed.

She was, of course, naked. Her mother had a bad habit of sunbathing naked where she thought no one could see her, and Rouge had inherited it. However in this case, she did hope she would be seen. Now that they were on speaking terms again, so to speak, she fully intended to renew her seduction, this time with even greater intention. She knew he wanted her now, and she was confident he would cave given the right...suggestions.

Smiling coyly behind her large sunglasses, Rouge lifted up her book and began to read.

The first tropical storm buffeted them the day after the boys left. It had sucked royally. As soon as the air smelled like rain and electricity, he grabbed his shit and bolted for the denser tree cover. It hadn't helped whatsoever and his shit was soaked to high heaven by the time the Dragon found him, toting a waterproof canvas with her. Looking little better than a drowned rat, he'd help her secure the tarp over his hammock. It offered him protection from the storm and that, he was quite grateful for. He'd rung out his hammock the best he could, stripped naked and slept with the rain pelting his tent as his lullaby.

The surprise visit from the punks had eased some of the tension out of him in regards to the Dragon. Having not seen her for all those days after their kiss had really worked him up. He wasn't sure how he was going to react to seeing her again and wondered what was going to happen now between them.

It had been easy to fall back into the rhythm of harmless, flirtatious banter with her. Part of him wondered if it was too easy. She hadn't seemed rattled at all and yet, when he was left to his own devices, it felt like that was all he was. A rattle of bones and flesh and hot feelings about her. She was just so sinfully sexy. He loved and hated the chemistry between them. The man in him loved how effortless it was, loved how passionate she was. The marine in him hated that now that he'd had a taste, he couldn't help but want _more_. She was bad for his career goals.

The morning after the storm yielded bright, warm, somewhat sticky sunshine. Lukas spent his morning packing up the soaking space he'd escaped to and trudged his wet way back to the lagoon to set up his camp. Once the canvas and hammock were situated back where they belonged, he set about making a clothes line in the sun with some twine she'd given him to hang his meager belongs on. He now had acquired a small knapsack filled with what he would graciously call a wardrobe. Three boxers, three cargo shorts, the cloth shorts he was kidnapped in, two button downs and two tee shirts. Couple with his notebook, pencils, food and hygiene essentials, he was living the high life.

Not.

But, as a hostage, he totally could have been worse off and she had been considerate enough to get him something to protect him from the rain. And he wasn't a man that didn't mind his manners. As soon as his clothing was hung out in the sun, he pulled up some damp shorts, brushed his teeth and sought her out to thank her.

It didn't take him long to locate her on the shore. He came through the trees and stopped dead when he spotted her.

She was… bare assed naked, looking totally relaxed with a girly drink, some sunglasses and a book. Yes, a book. He remembered that she liked to read in her spare time.

He baulked at the edge of the jungle. Part of him was like, _bah_ , he'd already seen the whole package and the part of him didn't want to get anywhere near the temptation of that banging body.

But he was already here, guaranteed she knew it and he'd look like a total wuss ass for chickening out of getting close to her. Lukas grabbed hold of the part of him that was confident in his ability to deal with her, the part of him that was unconcerned by her nudity because he'd already seen it all and stepped away from the marine long enough to thank her for her consideration during the storm last night.

He strode up to her and flopped down in the sand beside her, leaning back on his hands and staring into the ocean.

"Thanks for setting me up last night," he greeted, "The tarp was a good call against the rain."

She could smell him before she heard him, another trait increased by her devil fruit, and a smile played at the edges of her lips as she sensed his hesitation. Part of her figured that he'd turn tail and come back another time, one where she had more clothing on, but then she heard the quiet _swish_ and _hiss_ of feet moving through fine sand. Her smile grew, and she calmly put her book, face down, onto the sand next to her.

Well, looks like the man _did_ have some gumption with her.

She was even more pleasantly surprised when he dropped down in the sand next to her. She could feel the tension in his body, as much as he tried to act casual, and had to hide another smirk as she tipped her sunglasses down and peered at him over their dark lenses.

"Oh, you're most welcome babe."

Her eyes, casually and yet plainly obvious, flickered down over his body in a languid scan before she focused her blue stare back at his face. Heat filtered into her eyes and her smile turned into a wicked grin. "Have you come to sunbathe with me? It's an excellent source of Vitamin B, you know. It's good for you."

Lukas was sitting next to her beach towel, leaning back on his hands, and suddenly Rouge rolled over and shifted until she was on her belly at the very edge of her towel, facing him with her feet swinging in the air behind her and her hands under her chin. Her eyes were glowing with mischief and delight now, and the position of her arms, with her elbows burrowed into the depression her towel made into the soft sand, pushed her breasts together.

"And besides," she continued, as if their conversation was as common as a discussion over the weather, no at all abashed at her nudity. "you've gotta know by now that I really enjoy your bod. It's really quite gorgeous and while I do appreciate your penchant for being shirtless, I think being fully naked would suit you better."

From her angle, she could see up his shorts about two or three inches, about halfway up his thigh, and to her delight found that he was as white as a sheet. The rest of his body was covered in a glowing rich tan, but his thighs were as white as a baby's bottom. Her grin stretched even wider.

"Also...I think you have some pretty awful tan lines. Look at this!" Without even a pause for consideration, Rouge's hand shot out and her fingers slid under his shorts. The pads of her fingers tickled the sensitive skin halfway up his thigh, though at least she kept her hand to his outer thigh. She _could_ have shocked him silly and been a little more forward, but she couldn't be scaring him away so soon. Her seduction had just started, after all.

He decided that she had no shame. She didn't even try to cover up or anything; no modicum of decency from her. He couldn't even say he terribly minded because she was sexy as hell. The same part of him that consistently chose to waltz around in a state of half dressed empathized with her; if you have the goods, you might as well show them off.

His eyes, against his better half, swept over her when she rolled over, taking in the strands of hair that fell from the bun she had to the swell of her breasts to the shapely lines of her back and ass and legs. He'd be hard pressed to deny that she didn't trip his switches just a little bit, just by laying there.

She made a comment about his tan lines and suddenly, she plunged her hand up his shorts. His breath stuttered out in a half gasp as his immediate reaction was to palm her hand, trapping her right where she was and preventing her from traveling any further north. It was purely a self preservation method, to keep the jewels safe.

He had to grin though, simply because she had no sense of boundary.

"Get rid of my tan lines? Babe, they're my aphrodisiac. How else to you think I get the ladies to bed me? 'White as a baby's bottom' is a total turn on." One good round deserved another and he leaned forward just a little to daringly pinch the skin on the back of her thigh right up near her ass, right about where those wee shorts of her would sit, "Besides, I see a tan line right here."


	5. Chapter 5

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Most men, when confronted with a naked woman who puts her hand up the guy's shorts, become flustered and shy. The way he took her teasing in stride and threw some back at her was refreshing and infinitely interesting to her. She enjoyed that he wasn't a push over, that he wasn't easy. She found little challenge to getting laid, and this is the most fun she'd ever had towards that endeavor, despite the ulterior motive she had to be doing it.

Because she wasn't going to lie to herself. Sure, she felt that sleeping with him would put more cards in her favor at the end of the day when things had to be decided, but in all honesty, she _wanted_ it. She had wanted to see what kind of lover he would be the moment she'd first flirted with him. Niki said she was like a shark when it came to her men; once she set her sights on what she wanted, she never gave up until she had it.

She jumped slightly at his pinch and let out a giggle, her eyes dancing with humor, and she reached out to slap his hand, wiggling her ass a little. "Well, I can't be naked _all_ the time now can I? At least my ass isn't as white as the snow, like I bet yours in. That's because I sunbathe naked whenever I can. Nasty habit I picked up from my mother, I suppose. Drives my Uncles nuts." Her grin widened again and she chuckled.

"And I must say, whatever girls you've been picking up with those _dazzling_ tan lines of yours...well, I might reconsider your pick-up method," she gave him a faux-pitying look and shook her head mock-sadly. "Trust me hun...you'd get much better women showing off this sexy chest of yours...though maybe there is something spectacular about your ass. I dunno, I haven't gotten a good look at it yet."

The wicked gleam was back in her eye, and without warning, she pushed herself up from her beach towel, and slowly started crawling over him. She threw one lean leg over him until she was straddling his hips, and reached down to grasp the button that secure his shorts together. "If you want, I could take a peak and give you my professional advice on the matter." She drawled her words slowly, heat simmering below the teasing light that brighten her baby blues.

She pushed herself off the towel and he read what she was gonna do in her body language before she actually did it. Then, she did it slowly so he had time to process.

All he came up with was his fight or flight instinct warring with each other and he simply did not move. Everything about him from his lungs to his heart ceased moving, ceased breathing, ceased beating. He was torn once again between the temptation of her hot body and wicked eyes and his sense of justice, of business.

But he knew. He knew what her mouth tasted like, what her body felt like, what her hands felt like against his skin. And he wanted it. Ah god, he wanted it.

He grabbed her hands before they succeeded in undoing the button of his shorts as his sanity gathered one last gumption against her seduction and planted them down on either side of his hips. All that did was bring her that much closer, forcing her delicious body even closer to his.

"You're trouble for me," his voice was pitched low and his eyes raked over her, deepening from the light hazel green to a more dark, jungle green.

Her smile widened and she tilted her head to the side, studying him with speculation in her eyes. He was already struggling against his good-boy marine side, she knew. He was struggling, but he wasn't pushing her away, so that meant the side of him that wanted her was winning, even if just slightly.

"The bad kind of trouble...or the good kind?" she asked slowly, slowly extracting her hands from his hips and planted them on his bare chest instead. The desire to press her naked breasts against his chest was overwhelming, and she didn't fight it. Leaning in, she didn't give him a chance to hesitate, to push her away, but went right for his lips.

She slashed her mouth over his, letting her hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders until she was flush against his torso. The warmth and hardness of his body sent shivers of delight running up and down her spine, and while her body was practically trembling with the need to grind herself against him, she held herself back. She'd discovered, during their last encounter, that certain things too soon would push him over the edge and pull him back to 'sanity,' and she didn't want that to happen right now. So for now, she kept it simple; with her breasts mashed up against his shirt and her hands slowly over his back and shoulders, Rouge let her lips slide over his in a slow, exploratory kiss.

Eventually, she let her tongue slide out to taste him, deepening the kiss as one hand slid up the back of his neck and buried her fingers into his hair. She took her time, wanting him to relax, to become inexorably occupied with her kiss, so that he wouldn't freak out when she pushed this one step further.

She laid one on him, pressing her body right flush against his and his head spun from it. He knew, deep down in a place he wasn't ready to admit yet, that he was fucked. She did him in the way that no other woman in his past had ever and she was the worst kind of situation he could ever get into.

He was aware that she was holding back on him in a way that she hadn't before and he realized with a rush that he didn't want her to. He wanted a chance at that passionate woman again, like she couldn't get enough of him. He wanted it before his better sense kicked in and told him that this was a terrible idea.

He poured all that lust into her kiss. His hands slid up her back, one yanking the hair tie that held up her massive curls until they tumbled down her back like a waterfall, cascading over his hands. He threaded his fingers through it to hold the back of her head, keeping her locked against him and his other hand shaped against her lower back, the tips of his fingers skating over the curve of her ass. He pulled her closer to him, so that they were smashed together from hip to shoulder once again, except this time there wasn't any clothing to separate them.

"The bad kind," he answered, pulling away from her lip and dragging his mouth over her neck.

The way he bloomed under her kiss, becoming more aggressive and meeting her fire for fire, sent a shiver of appreciation under her skin. Yes, this is what she wanted from him. She'd never imagined him as a passive lover, but one who takes charge and goes for what her wants.

She smirked, letting her head fall back as his lips skimmed over her throat. Sure, she'd been a little aroused before, but now the heat in her was raging, and it became physically impossible to keep her body from rubbing against his. She let out a small moan, digging her nails into his back, until she couldn't take it anymore.

Using her knees in the sand for leverage, Rouge pushed him back with one hand on his chest until he was flat on his back, and braced herself with her hand to the right of his head.

"That's my favorite kind of trouble, you know..." she murmured huskily, then chuckled slowly as she dragged one finger down his chest. Her eyes darkened to a deep sapphire, and her cheeks were glowing from the flush of warmth the feel of him between her legs brought up. She wanted him in the worse way, and a part of her even suspected she could get away with what she wanted right here, right now. Have him, all of him.

But she always got what she wanted, and she did it well. So she _would_ take this slow, give him a little taste of what he could have if he accepted that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him.

Her finger traced lower, moving over the ridges of his abs until she reached the hem of his pants once more. Sitting up, Rouge deftly and swiftly released the fastenings, until the dusting of blond hair running down from his navel darkened to a burnt gold. Her heart skipped a beat as anticipation rushed through her.

Without giving him any warning, Rouge simultaneously slipped her hand under his shorts to wrap her fingers around his hard length and brought her lips down on his once more. As her fingers squeezed and pumped him, her lips and tongue teased him. Within moments, she upped the ante a little by drawing his tongue into her mouth and began to suck on it in time with her pumping fist, moaning softly.

He found it incredibly hot the way she took charge and shoved him down into the sand. And that evil little laugh she gave him… it shot fire right through him. What was wrong with him? A world-class criminal was getting him all worked up.

On the flip side though, she was going after a marine. They must both be just a little bit crazy.

His breath stuttered a little as she dragged her finger teasingly down his chest, stomach until she suddenly sat up and plucked the fastenings of his shorts. He was helpless to stop her, stop the arousal that flowed through him. He wanted this so badly it hurt. He _burned_.

Lukas propped himself up on his elbows to watch what she was up to before dropping hard back down into the sand with a groan when she wrapped her hand around his cock and worked him over. She crawled back over him, rubbing her body against him like a long caress until she claimed his mouth again, moaning. The sound vibrated right to his bones.

He didn't let her stay in control for long though. He was never the kind of man to lay down and take it from anybody, no matter what it was. He didn't get to where he was in his life by letting everyone else take the reins from him. Of course, not that girl on top wasn't his absolute favorite, but he saved it for the real deal.

Other positions let him have his way more thoroughly.

He grabbed her wrists to get her to quit her magic over him and flipped them over to press her into the sand this time. Her being naked was a total problem because there was nothing there to stop him, no guard. He dropped his mouth right to her breast, sucking the peak right into his mouth and his hand slid down her body, over her ribs, the dip in her stomach right to the hottest part of her.

He wasn't expecting what he found.

"Ah, _shit_ ," he cursed. He didn't know why he didn't notice before, but she was smooth as silk down there. Then again, he wasn't surprised. This was the Dragon he was talking about here. Of course she would have something as daring and bold and flawless as a full Brazilian. It just led him to think about sexing her on a _whoollllleeee_ different level.

He laughed against her breast as he slipped his fingers over her flesh, finding her hot and wet, "Full of surprises as always," he growled.

Suddenly it felt like the heat had been turned on higher when he flipped them over and claimed her breast with his mouth. She let out a little gasp of pleasure, her back arching when his hand slid down between her legs. Hot pleasure shot up through her abdomen as his fingers slid over her slick, sensitive flesh.

Well, this was a surprise. She hadn't been expecting him to reciprocate, given how he'd bailed on her last time, but then he wasn't the type of guy to take without giving, she suspected. Her lips hitched into a grin as she stuttered out a breath. This is why she knew he'd make a good lover. He was already proving her right.

"You wouldn't like me as much if I wasn't," she retorted breathlessly and chuckled, tightening her fist around his cock. His attention to her was making it difficult to focus on what she was trying to do to him, but then, Rouge loved a challenge.

Part of her was highly aware of the fact that she was butt-ass naked and he was nearly so, considering where her hand was, and it would be so damn _easy_ just to...fit things together, so to speak. She throbbed with the desire to tug him down until they were joined, but she'd already decided on her course of action, and wouldn't be swayed.

Not yet. All in good time.

She moved her fist faster, squeezing him tighter as she worked him over. Her eyes were glowing with heat and excitement, her cheeks were flushed and her lips were parted, small pants slipping past. She opened her legs wider for him, all too willing to oblige him if he felt the need to return favor to what she was doing.

In fact, working his cock while he touched her was incredibly arousing, and she let herself go beneath him. Groans of pleasure slipped past her lips, her eyes slid closed, and her breasts trembled with her breaths. She arched her back and ground her hips into his hand, pouring her passion into it. She gripped him harder still, urging him higher with long, full strokes that got tighter around his head and milked him skillfully.

Her head fell to the side in abandon and her free hand slid up her stomach, over her ribs, and around her breast until she was playing with her free nipple, pinching and squeezing her breast as she writhed beneath him.

He wasn't sure who or what snapped, but something did and it was as if instead of turning off the dripping faucet, she cranked it all the way, letting everything simply burst forth. And he was helplessly caught up in the flow. Everything from her throaty moans to her fingers caressing her own breast to her grinding her hips wantonly into his hand completely undid him. She half-assed nothing and he was wild for it.

As she masterfully got him off, his head swam with a million sexual fantasies that he never thought in his life that he would ever be able to complete and, as _man_ as it sounded, he vibed from her that she would willingly and skillfully go about them. She felt daring enough and he knew she would love the creativity and challenge.

And he felt so… so… _bad_ for thinking it. Bad to the bone.

He was behind enemy lines now. It was thrilling, it was exhilarating…

Lukas felt the telltale tinge rush up and down his spine before settling forward in the very pit of his stomach. His whole body grew hot and tight, the blood rushed, his cock beat to the rhythm of his heart. He was on the edge, the very cusp of what would probably be singly the most incredible orgasm of his life when a little spark of sanity came back.

 _Don_ _'_ _t do it, dude. You can_ _'_ _t trust this,_ his marine half kicked back in, even for that brief moment, _you can_ _'_ _t trust this because she_ _'_ _s the Dragon and you are you. Traitorous_ _…_

Traitor…

Boy, if that word wasn't a wake up call, he didn't know what was. He was a marine, for crissake! He'd dedicated the last seventeen years of his livelihood to catch criminals like her and bring justice to the world. Right now, every moment, every stroke, every groan of pleasure was tearing down those careful, long built pillars of the justice system that he'd been so diligently nursed on.

And yet, a tiny part of him thought, _fuck the system_ _…_ what was it about her that made him think that!? The marine in him resisted her because he had to and the man in him couldn't stay away. She was the flame to his candle and she drew him in like a moth.

 _Don_ _'_ _t look at the light!_ He couldn't help it. It was simply so beautiful.

He came, hard, riding on the heavy wave of confusion. The hand that was braced in the sand by her head grasped at the granules, digging his fingers in deep as a ragged groan was ripped from him to rumble against her breast.

His other hand worked her flesh faster, harder, begging her without words that she better damn well come for him. He even went as far as to slip not one, but two fingers into her. She was tight, but she was yielding and for some reason, the relief he felt that he couldn't hurt her was shockingly profound.

She sensed the hesitation in him, could _feel_ him struggling to pull away, mentally, from what was happening. A vicious grin hitched the corners of her lips up, and her fingers tightened determinedly on his cock. Though she didn't like to brag or anything, but she'd been told on more than one occasion that she was particularly talented with her hands...and her tongue, for that matter. So she upped the ante, wanting-no, _needing_ -for Lukas to find his happy place. Right in that moment it had nothing to do with her family or with him being a vice admiral. It had to do with her being a woman and him being a man that she was insanely attracted to and had finally gotten in his pants.

She was going to show him fireworks, dammit, whether he wanted it or not.

And when she heard the deep rumble of a groan pulled from the bottom of his gut, a satisfied smirk flashed over her face. Her satisfaction was short lived, however, when he inserted two fingers inside of her and increased the pace.

All thought were instantly wiped from her mind.

Her breath hitched and her head kicked back. Watching and feeling Lukas orgasm ratcheted her up high enough as it is, and she could practically taste the urgent, almost angry, eagerness that he felt in trying to get her to finish as well. Needless to say that within a minute, her muscles tightened and she reached her own climax with a small cry.

Her muscles tensed, her hips jacked up and her free hand flew from her breast to his shoulder, nails digging in deep. When the pleasure became so intense it was almost painful, her legs scissored together desperately, dislodging his hand and leaving her panting in the sand, limp as a noodle.

Three seconds went by, and all that could be heard was harsh breathing and her heart drumming in her eardrums. When the dust had settled, so to speak, and she realized what had just transpired between them, a slow throaty laugh slipped out from her lips.

She opened her eyes and turned her head to look up at him, her typical wicked grin stuck firmly in place on her reddened lips. "Now THAT was a lot of fun," she finally said huskily.

She was making fun of him.

The way she looked at him, the way that throaty chuckle slipped from her and she sat up, braced on her elbows to pin him with that _look_.

Almost like this was exactly what she wanted from him. Like she'd _won_ somehow.

He hated her.

Lukas stood and without looking at her directly, jacked his cargos up with some violent, jerky movements and buttoned it up. He was a shaken, rattled mess. At least, that's how he felt on the inside. That's how she made him feel and he hated it.

He had no words for her, once again, left to feel like he was the inferior virgin here. But what was he supposed to say? 'Oh, hey, ya, you rock my world and for some crazy reason, I find you completely irresistible but my sense of conduct requires that I stay away from you, so stop coming on to me.'

Ya, no.

So instead, he finally pegged her with a quick look, his eyes burning with arousal and anger before he ran his hand through his hair, the gesture meant for him to gather his wits about him a little bit. Then, he turned around and with as much casual swag as he could manage with his back turned to her, he raised his hand in farewell.

"You're trouble for me, Dragon. Remember we are supposed to be mortal enemies, so quit coming on to me."

Once he was off the sand and secluded into the jungle, he let some of that violent, jerky aggression come out of his step a little bit. He was frazzled and confused. How much harder would his job be if he fucked her senseless before he was able to get her to let him leave?

It wouldn't be. The mission would be completely compromised and he wouldn't be permitted to give chase after her anymore.

Then again, a twisted little part of him already figured that his superiors would pull him from her case anyway once they figured out she was the one who kidnapped him. So why not have a good fuck while he was here? Maybe that was what she wanted from him; leverage. The marines would certainly be looking down on him if word ever _ever_ got out that he was gotten this intimate with her already. Maybe she was coming on to him so he'd keep his mouth shut about her identity.

Well. That would be very overconfident of her to think that he would succumb to that kind of pressure.

No. no, what he really wanted was to just get off this island, go back to his life and forget this whole thing. He'd personally resign from the mission, claim himself as compromised and let someone else go after the Black Bull smuggling ring. He'd never breathe a word of her identity and that would be the end of them.

That's all he wanted. It could be so simple and yet, her very presence was making things complicated for him.

At the lagoon, Lukas dropped his shorts and crashed straight into the water without missing a step. The storm from the night before had shifted some of the silt in the water, so it was looking a little murky today, but he didn't even care. He needed the water to cool his feverish body, the way she easily undid him.

Something sharp pierced the ball of his foot and he stepped back on reflex and lifted his foot up. Two little pinpricks were bleeding mildly right near his big toe. Damn it. He wiped the pricks with his thumb and stuck his foot back in the water. He was more carefully about where he stepped as he made it over to the waterfall, mindful that the silt might've upset the homes of some underwater bugs or something.

The pressure of the waterfall felt good on his shoulders and helped him clear his head a little. He hated her as much as he couldn't stay away from her.

For the next couple of days, Rouge let Lukas be. She could tell he was avoiding her too, but after the way he'd looked on the beach after their little fun time...well, she wasn't stupid. He'd been angry, very very angry. And confronting him when he was like that was not going to get her any browny points and sure wasn't going to aid in seducing him.

The best thing to do was to give him a few days to cool off. He'd become bored and then he'd seek her out again, or something along that line. She was a patient woman, she felt no need to push her luck.

But damn...just the memory of what had transpired between them made her flush with heat. She couldn't remember the last time she'd ever been so hot for someone. He may be her enemy and he might even hate her guts, but they sure had some explosive chemistry between them. Not only that, but he'd been so _good_ with his hand.

A grin toyed at the edges of her lips and she sighed, glancing out her cave to see him running down the beach in his third lap that day. Though he was far off, her dragon vision gave her a fairly clear view of him. "You, Vice Admiral...would be a total beast in bed, wouldn't you?" she murmured slyly to herself, then burst out laughing at her own ridiculous words. She sounded like a deranged stalker, and that so wasn't her style.

Considering the almost panicked look on the guys face after the dust had settled, so to speak, Rouge had felt a little...bad. She was potentially ruining his career if anyone found out what was happening between them, and he'd only been doing his job to begin with. Sure she would feel safer setting him free into the world knowing she had leverage on him to counter the leverage he had on her for knowing her real name, but she wasn't going to push him to do things that he was morally against either. She was only interested in seducing him if she knew he wanted it just as badly, even if he struggled.

So she'd give it another shot at seducing him, but if he acting just as pissy and angry afterwards, then that was it, she'd have to stop her game. It was no fun if he was just going to throw a tantrum about it later. It wouldn't feel right.

Rouge sighed and slouched lower against the cave wall. Lukas disappeared from view as he rounded the bluff, and Rouge blew a strand of hair out of her face and shook her head. What an interesting man he turned out to be. And this situation was far more complicated than she'd predicted when she'd decided to kidnap him in the first place. She was really starting to _like_ the guy...and that was a problem.

Deciding she needed a break from her thoughts, Rouge got up and went to prepare her dinner.

He was dying.

He was sitting at the edge of the lagoon, wrapped up in every piece of material he had in his meager collection. On top of that, he had the two blankets curled tight around his shoulders and up over his head. He was sitting in the sunshine on a beautiful day.

And he was shivering to death.

He hadn't seen his reflection in quite some time other than the distorted one from the water, but from what he remembered he looked like, he would have been startled to see what he looked like now. His face and skin had taken on this clammy pallor shade and his eyelids were several shades darker than his face, giving him a haunted, slightly gaunt appearance. And he was shaking like mad, unable to get comfortable. His entire body ached like he'd been run over by a train and then taken a beating after that. He knew that he had to be running a terrible fever because on the one hand that he couldn't seem to get warm enough, he was dying of heat and his eyes were red and burning.

He supposed that he noticed the symptoms just a day or two after his encounter with Rouge. He had been going for his run and had decided to push himself even hard than he normally did. Self punishment or something like that. He was frustrated and pissed off that she was a constant occupation on his mind when she had no business to be there. He'd ran the perimeter of the island four times that day and probably could've gone more, but he'd felt so... Tired.

He didn't think much of it then. But steadily after that, he grew tired and weaker and more fatigue. Then his fever had peaked during the nights. And then rolling out if the hammock had been hard work. Eating had been harder until now, here he was, dying, a week later.

He hadn't had such a violent bout of sickness since he was a teenager. His line if work didn't offer a lot of chance to get sick, what with the open sea and the fresh air all the time. He was always really careful about what he ate, making sure to stay away from crap- except for coffee. And on top of that, he had the immune system of a bull.

He had jungle fever or something, that ever elusive sickness that titled something that couldn't otherwise be explained.

Lukas pulled the blanket even closer over his shoulders. He was dying. And he was really okay with it. Dying meant that everyone won. He would escape this god-forsaken island, escape Rouge and her seductive sorcery and she would get to be scot-free, living her little merry life with no one in the world knowing her identity.

There. Problem solved.

Rouge managed to keep away from the marine for a full week, but at that point, she couldn't deny herself any longer. He'd avoided her long enough, and she'd been generous enough to allow him that space, but she had a job to do. She had to figure out where she stood with this man so that she could either kill the guy or let him go and get off this damned island.

She'd never spent so long on her cache island before.

It didn't take long to find him after she started her search; she started with his camp site and found him almost immediately, sitting by the edge of the lagoon and wrapped up in blankets. Since searching a whole island took less time from the air, Rouge was in her hybrid form, and even with her super sharp eyesight, she couldn't figure out what the hell Lukas was doing.

But as she got closer, she realized he was just...huddling.

Rouge dropped to the ground a few feet behind him, shifting seamlessly back into her full human form, and got a good look at him. His back was to her, but she could tell he was shivering like mad, hence all of the blankets pilled over him in addition to all of the clothes, but as she hurried around to the front of him, he looked like he had a fever.

Panic seized her heart. She froze instantly as she became aware of the fact that Lukas was ill. Very very ill. Rouge had always had a problem with illnesses, be it herself or those around her. It was something that could not be defeated with strength or a devil fruit ability. It was something that could bring the strongest of people to their knees, and Rouge was terrified of one day dying from an illness she couldn't do anything about.

For three whole seconds she just stared at him with blank eyes, her lips tight. The whiteness of her flaring nostrils was the only outside indicator of the stark fear rocketing down her spine as her eyes took in his pallor, his sunken eyes, the way he was shivering...Dammit, she'd just figure out, first hand, how strong he was, and look at him now!

Rouge shuddered, and involuntarily took a step back.

He shifted, as if he'd noticed he presence, and she suddenly remembered that he was on this island because of her. He was her responsibility right now.

Stiffening her spine and hardening her resolve, Rouge darted forward and fell down to her knees next to him. "Lukas, it's me. What's going on? What the hell happened to you?" her hands shot out to feel his forehead and test his pulse. His forehead was on fire and his pulse was weak, making her own heart stutter in fear. She bit her lip, but kept her cool. "How long have you been like this? Why didn't you come find me?"

So lost in his delirium as he was, he didn't notice Rouge immediately until she was touching his face. He jumped and his eyes skittered up to her face as she spoke to him.

"I'm f-f-fine…" it was an automatic response. In reality, he wasn't entirely sure what she'd actually said to him, but judging by her facial expression and social custom, he assumed that she was inquiring about his state of health… or lack thereof, "J-j-just leave me here t-t-to die, Rouge." His words were slurred even as they sounded stable in his head. He didn't notice; in fact, he wouldn't have cared. He felt terrible and light-headed anyway.

He wrapped the blankets even closer around his shoulders and flicked them up over his head so that his ears were covered. He didn't want to be bothered. His whole body hurt and the back of his neck was speckled with sweat that was making him cold and uncomfortable.

She didn't move immediately and he flicked his eyes up to her again without moving another muscle. It felt like every time he moved, his vision got a little blurry around the edges, "L-look on the br-br-bright side… if I d-d-die, you'll b-be free…"

Her eyes narrowed on him and her lips set into a grim line. He was being dramatic, which was highly unlike him. For him to think he was dying...well, it certainly told her how bad he must be feeling.

"That's not how it's supposed to work," she muttered, trying to subdue her wildly pounding heart. A big part of her didn't want to get any closer to him than she had to, incase the illness was contagious, but then he really would die. Pulling up the courage that had saved her ass many a times, Rouge let out a slow breath. "You're not dying while in my custody...not unless I'M the one killing you," she added with a quirked smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Rouge too two steps back...and shifted. In a blink, a large black dragon was crouched down next to Lukas, and without even asking for permission, she scooped him up in her strong forepaws, and leapt up into the air.

It took only five minutes for her to get him back to her cave, and another three to get him back to her bedroll, covered in even more blankets. After that she fetched him water and food, placing them within reach, before she finally dove for the den den mushi.

"Moshi Moshi, this is Luffy!"

"Luffy I told you not to answer the phone like that incase the marines are trying to flush us out!"

If the situation hadn't been so dire, Rouge might have laughed at her Aunt Nami's angry voice in the background, but she was in a hurry, so she brusquely interrupted her uncle before he could retort to his wife.

"Uncle Luffy! I need to speak to Uncle Chopper RIGHT NOW." Rouge raised her voice to be heard over the whining captain, and got the reaction she was looking for.

"Chopper? Why?" The Pirate King's voice was laced with excited curiosity, and Rouge rolled her eyes. Her Uncle found anything out of the ordinary to be extremely interesting, and she rarely called for Chopper.

"Just do it Uncle!" Rouge snapped, her eyes flickering over to the mound of blankets that was Lukas. For some reason, the idea of him dying made her heart squeeze and her blood run cold. Never tease him again? Never hear his clever retorts?

No. That wasn't happening. He'd become...a friend, in a way, to her, and she hated losing her friends. As Luffy grumbled and went in search of the reindeer doctor, she ignored the small voice in her brain telling her that she wasn't supposed to make friends with Lukas.

Her internal dialogue was interrupted as Chopper's voice suddenly came over the den den mushi.

"Rouge? What's wrong? Are you alright?" Chopper sounded anxious and worried, and she had a feeling that Luffy had already spun some crazy tale of dangerous exploits or something, since she hadn't given him details.

"I need you to come to my cache island right now. It's an emergency. My...uh...a friend of mine is very very sick and I don't know what to do." She'd kept her cool so far as she was alone with Lukas, but Chopper was a dear friend of hers and the sound of his voice made her want to break down. She couldn't handle sickness, and her every atom resisted being so close to Lukas. Her voice wobbled a little and tears stung her eyes as she struggled to pull herself together and not sob to Chopper. "Please, as fast as you can."

Chopper immediately became even more alarmed, "Who? Can you described the symptoms? Calm down Rouge, I know sickness really freaks you out but you gotta listen to me and do what I say."

Rouge couldn't answer right away, but instead closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, urging herself to do as Chopper said. Finally she felt under control again, and turned her eyes to Lukas. "I can do that," she answered, her voice much stronger than it was a second ago.

Over the next twenty minutes, Rouge went back and forth with Chopper on the phone, describing the symptoms as best she could. Chopper then instructed her to keep him as warm as possible to try to sweat the fever out, and then feed him as much water as she possibly could. He also instructed her to collect a few herbs and berries from her island that he was familiar with to make into a tea that should help with his pain. After that, Chopper told her he would be at the island within the next two days. She'd been surprised by this, until she realized he intended to use Franky's speed boat. She winced, feeling bad for the doctor since the speed boat sometimes scared the crap outta him when Franky went too fast, but it also told her how dedicated he was as a doctor.

"Thank you, Chopper," she murmured, her eyes lingering on Lukas' fevered face.

She hung up, and began making her preparations.

In the dim, rational part of his brain where he was hanging onto just a tiny bit of sanity, he was aware that he was slipping in and out. It was like an out of body experience. He felt like he was crawling through a foggy dreamscape and trying to recall what he'd just witnessed was like holding water in cupped hands; he couldn't keep hold of it long enough to process and analyze.

He heard her talking to him, realized that she made a thinly veiled attempt at humor but it was gone out of his head before he could think more on it. She moved and his focus was shot, his vision a little blurry. He hunkered down further into his blankets, shivering uncontrollably.

Something shifted out of the corner of his eyes and when he readjusted to glance at it, suddenly, there was a black and blue dragon sitting there. His expression widened and he stared for just a moment. Where the hell did a dragon come from? For that matter, when did dragons come out of mythological hiding?

Just as he started to vaguely piece something together about Rouge and dragons, he felt the ground leave behind and for what could have been moments or hours, the world slipped in and out of darkness as his fever spiked and subsided. Then, he was ushered into the back crevice of the cave where it was dark and shadowed and peaceful. More blankets were piled on top of him and the weight hurt at the same time as the warmth was wonderful and terrible.

He was dying. He was dying and it was painful and miserable and this had to be the worst way to die. He imagined that he would die in an epic combat, or old and some cool and awesome freak accident, like a training session with some young sprouts. Really, anything would be preferable to sweating and shivering to death and feeling like he'd been run over by a boat.

Under all the blankets and comforters he had piled on top of him, he was dimply aware that Rouge was moving around and talking to someone. Who was here? Lukas opened his eyes to watch her. Next to him, he noticed a glass of water and some bread, and it wasn't that he wasn't hungry enough to eat it; it was too much effort to reach out for it. Instead, he settled on watching her move around, finding it calming and distracting from the way his whole body throbbed to the beat of his heart.

She was talking on the den-den mushi, twirling the cord around and around her fingers. She seemed restless, waiting, her voice clipped and urgent and then there was silence before it pitched up and he winced as the noise pierced his eardrums. She glanced his way, then turned around and her voice softened again, her head bobbing as she nodded fervently.

Rouge started up pacing, taking the transponder snail with her as she walked around and around the cave. His eyes followed her until she was out of his vision and then resumed tracking her when she reappeared. It was her voice that he followed the most; he didn't understand or follow much of what she was saying, but her tone was so vastly different than what he was used to from her that he held onto the melody of it. She was clipped and clinical, her words as fast as her boots as they echoed against the rocky floor.

It the quiet _meep_ of the den-den-mushi hanging up that focused him back to reality a little, having fell into a bit of a stupor listening to her pace and talk. He shifted under the mounds of blankets he had until he was sitting up a little bit better, his knees drawn up to his chest and his head leaning against the smooth rock. A piercing pain vibrated up his leg and he let out a stuttered gasp of pain, his hand shooting out to grasp at his toes, the most movement he'd done in many hours, perhaps days. That's right… his leg had been hurting him now for a while, but because the rest of his body hurt pretty bad too, he didn't take any notice to it.

A deep breath later, he flipped his head to the side to glance at Rouge, "What are you d-doing?" he asked her.

Rouge had just turned towards the opening of the cave to collect the necessary herbs when she heard the soft rustle of blankets as her "patient" moved. She paused, waiting for silence once again, but instead heard his weakened voice.

Surprised that Lukas was still coherent enough to speak, Rouge half-spun, a momentary look of panic on her expression that he might have overheard her almost-breakdown when on the den den mushi with Chopper, but then she saw his condition, and decided it didn't matter. She paused for a moment to answer, stunned once more by how _weak_ he looked compared to the strong Vice Admiral she'd first brought to this island. Her brows furrowed slightly as she noticed him favoring his leg, but she wasn't a doctor and she didn't know what she could do for him other than what Chopper had told her. In fact, she'd been so afraid of illness that she'd avoided anything about it as much as possible, and thus lacked much of the knowledge of what to do when sick.

His ashen pallor, and even the way he'd pull himself up...

Her face grew a fraction paler, and she turned her back on him once more. He looked too much like Lorane, the woman who had been her nanny as a child. In her mid thirties, she'd been young enough to be hip and interesting, but old enough to take care of them expertly when her parents needed some time to themselves. Then she'd gotten ill, and no matter what Chopper did for her, there was nothing that helped. Rouge had watched as one of her most cherished friends slowly wasted to death over the course of two months. Rouge had only been seven, old enough to understand what was happening, and to understand the awfulness of being unable to do anything at all to prevent someone she cared for deeply for dying.

Drawing in a deep breath to steady herself, reminding herself that she was responsible for him because SHE was the one who brought him here, Rouge said quietly, "I'm going to make you better. Being a criminal wouldn't be fun without a crafty marine like you to make like more interesting." Her voice was rough, but steady. Without another word, she headed out for what she needed.

A day and a half later, Rouge's sharp ears detected the high-pitched whirring noise that came from the high-speed boat that Franky had designed a couple of years ago. Rouge shot to her feet like the rock under her was on fire, and practically dove out of the cave entrance. Though she liked Lukas a lot more than she'd anticipated, being around a sick person by herself for such a time had made her gone a little stir-crazy.

Still...she found she'd felt closer to the marine than ever before, despite the fact that he was barely coherent most of the time. She'd spent hours changing the blankets, feeding him water and food when he could keep it down, and talking to him. Even though he couldn't answer most of the time, or was passed out, she'd felt comforted when she was talking to him. It took her mind off remembering that she was around a deathly sickness.

Of course, nothing had taken her mind off his condition than when she'd given a sponge bath the first time he'd sweated through all of the blankets and clothes. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him naked, but slowly working a cloth over all of his muscled body had truly enlightened her on his absolute sexiness.

Rouge shook that thought out of her mind, considering she was about to see two of her 'uncles' in the flesh. As she soared down towards the hidden cove where she usually docked her ship, she could see the fading wake of the speed boat. Within moments, she shifted back to her human form and was running down the beach towards the two figures disembarking from the speed-boat.

Chopper noticed her first, but then he probably smelled her. Both figures turned towards her, and she couldn't help herself, she dove right into Chopper's enormous fluffy chest. The human-shaped reindeer was in his full human form, and wrapped his large furry arms around her in a tight hug.

"Rouge!" Chopper exclaimed, a mixture of warm greeting and uncertainty.

"Chopper...I'm so glad you're here." Rouge pulled back, looking up at her tall uncle-the only one who hated her using the term uncle when she was talking to him-and smiled gratefully.

"You don't look so SUPA, fire-cracker," Franky's deep voice cut in, and the cyborg crossed his huge arms across his chest as he eyed her suspiciously. She could practically see him analyzing the dark circles under her eyes. "What the hell is going on little one?"

Rouge sighed and stepped back from Chopper to address both of them, rubbing her tired eyes as she tried to pull together the right words. Both men continued to watch her silently, Chopper with a worried expression and Franky with narrowed eyes.

"Well..it's a really long story, but I can fill you in later. What you need to know right NOW is that I have a very ill patient for you," she turned her eyes to Chopper, and he gave a brief nod in understanding, "and...well, he's a marine, a pretty important one...but he's not to be harmed!" she turned her eyes to Franky now, who seemed even less pleased, but as she continued to stared him down, he finally sighed a nodded.

"Good, okay...let's go." Without even waiting for an answer, Rouge shifted into her full dragon form, scooped up both of her uncles in her strong paws, and headed for the cave. She ignored their protests, because while normally they were perfectly capable of getting up to her cave without her help, flying was faster, and Lukas needed help NOW.

Within minutes, she deposited them into the cave, shifted, and joined them. Like the professional that he was, Chopper immediately bee-lined for the huddled form that was Lukas, while Franky stayed back and watched with sharp, wary eyes.

"He doesn't look so tough..." Franky muttered, and Rouge rolled her eyes, feeling a little like her old self now that she had back-up.

"He's a vice admiral," Rouge told him with a look that said don't-underestimate-that-guy.

"What?!" Franky's voice shot up in tone, and Chopper looked up with a severe expression, holding his finger to his lips in a demand for quiet, and Franky lowered his voice with a sheepish expression. He turned back to Rouge, and his expression turned more serious. "What the hell are you doing on an island with a vice admiral of the freakin' marines?!"

Rouge winced, then sighed. "It's a long story...I'll explain after Chopper can listen too. I don't want to have to repeat myself..." she grumbled, despite Franky's warning glower. "Oh, and you can't tell my dad, or he'd burn up the island in anger."

With a muttered curse, Franky moved to get comfortably by the fire pit. Rouge sighed wearily, and went to join him, her eyes constantly drawn back to the scene of a weakened Lukas and a diligent Chopper.

For much of the next hours or days or however long time went by, Lukas slipped in and out of moment of lucidity. At some points, he was awake enough to sit up and drink some of the water or tea that Rouge brought him. He tried to talk to her, but while the words sounded good in his head, the way they came out confused him and jumbled him up. And by the way she'd shush him every time, likely she didn't understand what he was trying to say anyway.

He tried to ask her why. Why was she doing this for him. That was the one thought he clung to in his feverish delirium. It didn't matter that he was unsure how he'd gotten this ill, or that he was days away from death's doorstep or that he'd never been this sick in his entire life. Hell, he wasn't even concerned with getting better at this point; he was just an unlocalized mess of pain and misery. What bothered him, what kept him at least partially coherent was the deep-seated confusion as to why she even bothered with him.

He wondered if her theory was working. As soon as he'd found out who her lineage was, she'd whisked him to this island under one pretense: she kept him until she trusted him to keep her secret.

He wondered if she trusted him now.

He couldn't deny that he felt better with her taking care of him. Being with someone was far more preferable than suffering alone. When the fever spiked and he was baking through all the material, she'd change the blankets. She cooled his forehead with a wet cloth. At some point, he was pretty sure she gave him a sponge bath, but that memory was fuzzy at best and could have just been a dream in concocted in fever pitch.

Lukas was sitting up again when people arrived. He had the blankets up over his head and his knees drawn up with his temple leaning against the smooth cave wall when a winged shadow cast over the entrance. He flickered his eyes to the side to see Rouge shift back to her human form but this time, she was accompanied by two people. A monster and a robot.

Oh. Fuck the trust thing. She sent him assassins. She planned to do him in while he was weak and incapacitated.

"Who're you?" he asked, his voice a little thready and gravelly as the monster hurried over to him.

"I should be asking you that," the monster creature said to him, opening a large backpack and pulling out a series of medical equipment. He pulled out a long pole and snapped it open before standing it up next to Lukas and hanging a clear bag of liquid on a hook with a long tube attached to it, "My name is Chopper and I'm a doctor."

"A doctor?" he glanced at Rouge, standing in the entrance. For the moment, he was lucid and wondered once again why she was going so far as to help him by bringing a doctor to him.

"Yes. And you are in real bad shape right now. But don't worry. In a couple of hours, you'll feel a lot better," Chopper the doctor continued. He adjusted the blankets and pulled out Lukas' arm and carefully inserted a needle into the crook of his elbow. Fluid rushed through the tube and into his bloodstream. Chopper pulled out another bag of fluid, this one a pale cream color and also hung it on the pole and inserted another tube into his other arm. He taped over both the tubes to keep them attached to Lukas' skin.

"These are just some fluids," Chopper explained, "One is saline because you're dehydrated and the other is morphine to calm some of your body pain. I'm also going to give you a small sedative and a small bag of vitamins and minerals intravenously. I'll conduct my examination and by the time you wake up, I'll know how to treat you." He paused to push some liquid through the receiver in the tube, "Tell me your name."

"Lukas…" Lukas replied, feeling immediately foggy as he watched the sedative track its path through the tube and directly into his bloodstream.

"We'll take good care of you, Lukas," Chopper the doctor's voice faded fast and the last thing Lukas thought before the world went dark was that he wasn't convinced that Rouge hadn't hired these guys to kill him.

As soon as his patient was out cold, Chopper went about setting up his work station. He had everything he could possibly need in his backpack and what he didn't have, Rouge had set up already for him, including a table and chair next to Lukas. He set up his equipment, his medical bowls, herbs, tools of the trade and vials of different types of medicine.

He took a blood sample first and while it was culturing, he removed the fifteen pounds of blankets that she'd piled on top of Lukas. And what he saw under the material had him gasping in shock.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed quietly. The man's left foot was a grotesque shade of blues and purples from his big toe right up to his ankle. And the blood vessels were swollen and discolored, tracking up his ankle and leg all the way until it disappeared under the hem of his cargo shorts. Chopper stripped him and saw that the tracks didn't stop and went all the way up to his hip.

"Poison…" he muttered before turning to glance at Rouge, "You didn't tell me about this! Lucky he's not dead! This is really serious!" he bustled around his table to make a quick antivenin, something to stave off the poison a little, just until he could figure out how and where this man had contracted such a lethal venom.

He mashed up some herbs and sucked them up onto a needle to insert into the saline tube, "This certainly explains his symptoms better. Poisoning accounts for the fever, but this has turned into an infection of the blood. Judging by the pathways here up his leg, another day and his organs would have started to shut down," he gingerly touched the foot. This must be terribly painful… it looked like there was a bite mark on his toe. Chopper grabbed a scalpel and nicked the blood vessel. The blood that came out was thick and dark. He took a sample to help construct the antivenin.

"On the bright side, Rouge, you can't catch what he has and once I make the antivenin, he'll be fine in a few days. By the fact that he's still alive, he's got a robust immune system so he'll kick this fast. When he wakes up, he'll be lucid enough for me to ask about the bite and if we can, I'll get a sample of the creature and make a powerful antidote for him and for you, in case," he scooted his chair over to the table and started getting a few things together to prep.

From the fire pit, Franky's voice asked, "Now, fire-cracker, I recognize him even though he looks like death glazed over. That's vice admiral Knowles Lukas; his picture is all over the paper about his disappearance. Why do _you_ have him with you, here, at your island? Ace-bro would lose his shit if he found out…"

Rouge grinned sheepishly up at her cyborg uncle and shrugged innocently, holding up her hands at her sides and widening her eyes like she did when she was a little girl. "It's nothing, really."

Franky's lip twitched, but his expression didn't change as he shook his head with a long-suffering sigh. "It's most definitely _something,_ firecracker...spill, or I really WILL tell aniki that YOU are responsible for all of the commotion among the marines."

Rouge huffed and gave him a pouty look for a moment, then sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the wall of the cave as her eyes shifted over to what Chopper was doing. "He's smart, that one. He got mixed up in a deal I was working and after a few weeks of trying to bring me to justice he just...figured it out. He guessed or something about who my dad is, and he got it right or something. And then when he told me...I kinda panicked. I couldn't risk him telling anyone else, so I just...removed him from the equation."

Franky, regarding her with rather surprised eyes, slowly lifted a brow. "Removed...him? And so you plan to keep him on this island forever?"

Rouge sighed again, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "No..." she half groaned, lifting her hands to her face. "I just...well, in the weeks that he chased me, I took a liking to him. He's a good man, really, and I couldn't just kill him for doing his job...My whole being rebelled at the idea." She shrugged a little and opened her eyes again to watch the medical proceedings. "So instead I was hoping to keep him here and convince him not to give me away, and see if I could trust him," she murmured.

Franky watched her quietly for a moment. He may not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but he wasn't blind either. He could see the care in Rouge's eyes as she watched the vice admiral, and part of him wanted to kill the bastard and fix this issue before things became even more complicated than he guessed his niece intended. But at the same time...while he knew his little firecracker wasn't the innocent girl she used to be, he'd also never seen her look at a man like that, and Franky couldn't bear the idea of taking that away from her. Not when she obviously had things so under control in so far as isolating the vice admiral.

No, he wouldn't interfere. Wasn't his style, and besides, she needed to learn about life firsthand.

"Well, I certainly know how SUPA convincing you can be!" Franky finally said with a grin, and reached out to slap her on the shoulders. "Just be careful," he added.

Rouge grinned at the knowing look he eyed her with, because she had always been a master at getting what she wanted from her family when she was little. And she wasn't too proud to accept his warning as anything but familial concern too. "Don't worry, not one can take down a dragon like me."

Franky guffawed and shook his head. "I always loved your SUPA spunk, firecracker."

Rouge cast him a brief smile, but didn't answer. Instead, she turned her eyes back to Lukas. Though she'd been in conversation with her uncle, she hadn't missed a word that Chopper had said. The idea that Lukas had come so close to actually dying...

A shiver went through her. She hadn't know him long, truly, but the idea of not having him in the world made her unbearably sad. The world would be at a loss without a good man like him. And who would be worthy of chasing her then?

No one as interesting and fun as him. She'd dearly missed their verbal sparring in the days that she'd been without him and when he'd been too sick to really speak. She couldn't bear the thought of being responsible for his demise. She'd brought him to this island, so it was her fault. And while that normally wouldn't bother her with an enemy like a marine...

He'd become her _friend_. A very sexy and charming one, definitely, but without a doubt she knew that if he wasn't a marine, they would have hit it off as great friends from their very first meeting. A part of her, one which she tried to ignore valiantly, felt unreasonably frantic on the inside about the prospects of losing him. A feeling unlike those she felt for her nakama, but similar. She didn't want to analyze it, and kept her mind focused solely on helping Chopper cure Lukas.

The next time he woke up, he was groggy as fuck. Lukas opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of the cave as the rest of him started to wake up. He felt a little like he was laying on a soft cloud, that his body was light and airy. He could hear some gentle talking; the low guffaw of a man, the sinfully mellifluous voice of the Dragon and then someone very close to him, muttering and tinkering around with something.

He made an attempt to sit up by pushing himself up onto his elbows and promptly became very dizzy and was forced to lie back down. The tinkering beside him stopped, as did the voices and suddenly, his vision was filled with a very fluffy, little reindeer creature.

"You're awake!" the reindeer said jubilantly, "How do you feel?"

Lukas sat up again, this time much more slowly until he was propped on his elbows, "Groggy…" he replied, but his voice was very rough around the edges and he cleared his throat to try again, "Groggy and tired… like I hit the rum too hard last night…"

There was a deep laugh from the fire pit and he flipped his eyes to see the biggest robot-man in his life, sitting beside Rouge. Lukas studied him for a minute before turning his eyes back to the reindeer. He recognized them now… he remembered this little creature was a doctor and gave him some shit before he fell asleep. These people were the Straw Hats. Chopper the doctor and the robot was Franky the Cyborg.

"Well, hungover is better than dead, for sure," Chopper smirked and busied himself checking the fluids and whatever else doctors did, "Tell me how you feel. You feel any pain? Anything weird?"

Lukas thought for a minute. It was definitely hard to feel anything when his head was floating in the clouds, "I feel hot still… and my leg hurts…"

"That's normal. You're burning off a fever still. You've been poisoned and damn lucky to be breathing still," Chopper flipped the blanket off his legs and Lukas stared at what was supposed to be his left leg, but now it was wrapped in some bandages up to his mid calf with a couple of tubes running liquid in and out of his skin, "You have blood poisoning. See here? The track marks are receding, a good sign. It's an infection of some kind," Chopper pointed to his foot, "It looks like you were bit by something. Do you remember where? It'll help me make an antivenin to push the poison out of your body faster. Right now, I have you on a basic antidote, but it won't work for too long depending on the poison."

Lukas pushed his mind back. The last couple of days were really vague, like clips and phrases of a dream. He remembered Rouge coming to find him and before that, what he clearly remembered was waking up in the middle of the night with a raging fever. Before that… his failed attempt at a run and before that…

Oh snap. He got down and dirty with the Dragon. Gave and got a rocking orgasm. No, he couldn't think about that right now. Fast forward…

"Something bit me in the lagoon," he remembered suddenly, "The water was murky because of the storm and something bit me. Stung a lot. I didn't see what it was though."

Chopper nodded and went to the table to sort through a few books he had laid out. In the quiet, Lukas glanced at Rouge. She was talking to Franky, but every so often, she'd glance at him and he was once again struck by the confusion as to why she was helping him. She contacted one of the best doctors in the world – albeit a pirate – to come to his aid. She'd taken the time to come find him, bring him to her secret cave and take care of him. What did that say about her, about them?

"Just as I thought!" Chopper announced, "Based on your symptoms and the location and habitat, I'm almost positive you encountered an Arashidoro spider. They are fairly uncommon arachnids, but they live in fresh water, tropical climates and make their webs under the mud. They are especially active after storms. I'm gonna guess the storm churned up his home and when you stepped near him, he lashed out at you. If treated quickly, the symptoms are really quite minor, but left alone, definitely strong enough to kill a human," he shut the book with some finality, "Franky! Go catch me that spider so I can make an antivenin!"

"SUPER! I'm on it, doc!" Franky laughed.

Lukas laid back down and covered his face with his hands. Great. He was almost done in by a flipping spider. Damn… he was too tired for this.

Chopper and Franky stayed for another day after that. The good doctor whipped up an antivenin with the dead spider that the cyborg caught and injected it into Lukas' saline concoction he had plugged into his arm. Within 24 hours, he was feeling loads better, so much so that he could actually sit up and eat and drink a little. His fever was down low and his body didn't hurt nearly as badly anymore and his morphine dose was dropped down really low so that he only had it really for his leg. And he was completely conscious unless he was sleeping.

Chopper said that it would be another day before he was allowed to get up and move around and go outside and he was under strict orders to not work out or exercise too hard for at least three more days.

"You have the immune system of a horse," he'd said, "You're making remarkable progress!"

The doctor and the robot left them, leaving Lukas plugged into a saline and morphine drip and specific instructions on how to remove both. He left another couple of doses of the antidote for the arashidoro spider "just in case" and some medical gauze and balm for his leg when he needed to change the bandage in another day.

Alone now in her cave with her, Lukas was sitting exactly where he'd be left, leaning back against the cave wall with his left leg out straight and the right knee cocked up with his elbow resting on it. The morphine drip made him a little loopy-feeling and definitely slow on the comebacks which meant that Rouge had the advantage when it came to verbal sparring. He didn't know if he'd be capable of forming a retort fast enough for her. But the trade-off was worth it because he felt good and now he had a good excuse to simply watch her.

"Rouge," he said her name to get her attention, "Let me ask you something. Why did you help me? You had the perfect excuse to off me via natural causes. Not only am I your enemy, but I know your dirty little secret. Poison would have been a great way to remove me from the equation."

Rouge was near the entrance of the cave, basking in the sun as she made preparations for their lunch. Her thoughts had wandered once again to the strange situation she was in and how she was possibly going to get out of it. At the time, kidnapping the vice admiral had seemed like a great idea, but now...

Well, it had become so much more complicated than she'd anticipated. When he was healthy and robust, she'd enjoyed teasing him and seducing him, but since he'd become ill that wasn't possible. And yet...she'd enjoyed his presence, even when he was asleep or passed out. She'd found herself comforted by his presence, and that was unsettling to her.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of his voice calling her name. Her real name, not 'Dragon,' as he most often called her. It was startling, to hear his baritone voice pronouncing her name, because it sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. It was a pleasant sound, and she found herself wishing he said it more.

She turned to look at him, seated on her bedroll. Since she was normally alone, there was only one sleeping area and she'd given him her bed for him to recover. The sight was even more unnerving because she never let men into her personal sleeping space, preferring to keep that space to herself.

His question had her gaze flickering up from the bedroll to his face, and for a moment she didn't answer, simply gazing at him with an unreadable expression on her face. Finally, she turned back to the entrance, the warm sun on her face, and only her profile remained visible to him. "I like you. I already told you that I didn't want to kill you. That means I don't want you dead, regardless of what or who is doing the damage. Besides...if you died while in my charge, on my island...it would still be my fault. I brought you here, I exposed you to the spider, in a way."

Her voice died off, her eyes gazing out across the ocean that gently slapped against the beach down below. "I would never wish dying by illness on anyone, Lukas. Even if you were my greatest enemy, I would never wish that kind of death on you." Her voice was quiet, and she was unaware of the fact that her expression had acquired a pained look on it, that her shoulders were stiff curled in on herself in a protective manner. But the moment lasted only a second before she shook it off.

When she glanced back at him, her usual grin was back in place, and all traces of discomfort were gone. "Besides, my life would be infinitely more boring without a sassy marine on my tail. One who can give as much as he takes."

Feeling like she needed to steer this conversation away from the topic of sickness, Rouge got to her feet, gathering up the herbs and vegetables she'd been cutting up, and headed for the pot of water that was simmering over her fire. "I hope you're hungry," she told him with a wink. "I'm preparing a special stew for you, a recipe from my Uncle Sanji. It's not quite as good as his, but it's pretty damn close, if I do say so myself."

Being doped up like he was, though not as severely as he used to be, he was more focused and attentive to listening to her purely because it was more or less a struggle to maintain her words. And he paid close attention to her body language as well. In doing so, something became very apparent.

Illness was her kryptonite.

A few pieces started to link together for him, clips of images he remembered in his fevered delirium. When she came to find him, huddled in a miserable ball on the beach of the lagoon, he seemed to remember her a few shades paler than she normally was, and her hesitation, the flaring of her nostrils. Then he recalled her voice on the den-den mushi, clinical, clipped and pitchy. Very unlike her and he definitely remembered noticing how different her voice sounded. The way that as soon as Chopper came, she didn't come within a ten-foot radius of him. Even now, she kept her distance from him and the way she spoke… she found death by illness unsuitable and terrible. Not that he didn't disagree, but there was something in the tone of her voice that suggested that it almost… terrified her.

On the other hand… she said she liked him.

He couldn't deny that he felt a warm rush of delight at the idea. And strangely, it wasn't because her liking him meant that he'd get off this island faster. He liked her too, in the way that if they weren't marine and smuggler, they would have been good friends. Ah, hell, he probably would have tried to date her.

He pushed romantic thoughts of Rouge out of his head. He couldn't be thinking about it right now, not when he was drugged out. As it was, it was probably pretty bad to be thinking that he even remotely _liked_ her. Having any feelings towards your target whether they be hate or affection blinded you to what you needed to do. Unbiased was preferable.

Unfortunately, he was passed unbiased and moving into affection and equally unfortunate that he was starting to get accustomed to the idea.

She stirred the soup and he could smell it from where he was sitting on her bedroll. It occurred to him suddenly that he hadn't moved from this spot in days, not since she'd brought him here. She'd sacrificed her secrecy, her bed and her time and energy to help him and it struck a cord in the region of his chest. He may have felt at the time that death would have been the better of his options, but looking back, he was thankful for what she did. He had people in his life who counted on him, his mother and sisters and he was better to them breathing than six feet under.

Gathering the strength he'd managed to get back in the past two days, Lukas shifted and leaned on his morphine drip pole until he was able to stand – albeit a little shakily – on his good leg and did some sort of limp-shuffle over to the fire pit, favoring the leg that was bandaged heavily and tightly. Chopper told him he wasn't allowed to be free of the bandage until the track marks had completely receded.

He dragged the blanket with him and flopped heavily down across from her and let out a breath, "Woo, that was hard," he half-joked, "This soup better be worth it. That was…" he gestured to the bedroll in order to give him time to gather his thoughts, "That was a long distance," the space from the bedroll to the fire pit was a solid eight feet.

Rouge blinked at him, then burst out laughing. Still giggling, she reached for the two wooden bowls sitting in a small carved alcove next to the makeshift fireplace, and put both down between them. She then proceeded to spoon the stew into one of the bowls, and handed it to him.

"For that, you can have second helpings," she teased back at him, her eyes twinkling with humor. Then she spooned up her own helping, and shifted to lean back against the rock wall between the entrance and the firepit. Because of the way the entrance was angled to make it impossible to see from the beach, the light fell across her lap, slanting in from the side.

She loved being in the sun almost as much as she loved dancing.

"Well, I'm glad you are feeling better. For a minute there you were looking pretty wimpy," With a grin, she dug in to her food.

For the next couple of hours, they passed the time in jovial conversation, as well as the occasional game of checkers or cards. She found herself pleasantly surprised by how much she enjoyed herself, simply talking, teasing, and playing games. She'd agreed to let him sleep in her cave for as long as it took to make him better, because the idea of kicking him out before he was in top shape simply terrified her. What if he got sick again?

The very idea sent shivers of dread through her. No, she wouldn't risk the chance of his illness, or anyone's for that matter, getting worse.

By the time night fell, she could tell the efforts of being awake and alert all day was wearing on Lukas, so she encouraged him to sleep while she left to make her rounds of the island and collect more water. Twenty minutes later, assured that everything on the island was as usual, Rouge came back to find that Lukas had indeed passed out cold. A small smile flickered over her lips, and she watched him for a moment, the warmth from the fire licking up her back.

Today they had very nearly fallen into their usual routine, and she was reminded now that she'd intended to seduce him, and had gotten no where since their last encounter because of his illness. Now, though, he was practically better, and she still have her original problem to deal with.

And so it only made sense that she lay down with him. He was, after all, on _her_ bed. She could only imagine how flustered he might be to wake up and find her sleeping with him.

With a wicked grin, Rouge got to her feet, fetched the one blanket she hadn't donated to him, and stretched out next to Lukas' warm body and covering herself with her blanket. Instantly his warmth became seeping into the side of her closest to him, and she closed her eyes in satisfaction. She loved warmth, gravitated towards it, and couldn't help herself from scooting closer until they were pressed together on the bedroll.

As the sounds of soft breathing filled the cave, Rouge found herself wondering if her motivation to lay down with him was really tied with her "need" to seduce him to solve her problem, or if she just...wanted to.

But the idea was so uncomfortable that she instantly dismissed it from her mind, and curled up on her side, back to back with him, and fell asleep.

He supposed he was aware at one point that she joined him on the bed roll, in the same way that you might barely be aware that you are reaching over to your bedside table to chug some water in the middle of the night. He felt her body press up against his back and she was warm and comforting. Work and one-night-flings made for pretty cold bedmates when it came down to it. Nothing about Rouge was cold. She was fire and sass one hundred and ten percent of the time.

Running on auto-pilot and semi-conscious, he rolled over until her body was tucked into the curve of his, his arm draped over her hip and his thumb hooked into the waist band of her shorts. His other arm was tucked under his head.

He slept like that until morning, breathing in her addictive scent.

When Lukas woke up in the morning, the position they were in changed slightly from the middle of the night. He was still wrapped around her like Saran wrap, but his hand travelled from her waist band to her tight stomach; apparently, he'd even gone so far as to bunch her tank top out of the way so he could be skin to skin with her. He had his bad leg stretched out straight and the good leg was tucked right in between hers, his knee not very far from being flush against the juncture of her leg.

He woke up like this… and it took him a solid two minutes to process it. And when he did, all he managed was a sigh in defeat. He simply didn't have the mental energy to fight it right now. He was still recovering, for one, and the other part of him was tired of fighting it when he wanted it so badly to begin with. He could reason that he was fucked anyway; as soon as his superiors found out that he'd been kidnapped and held hostage by her, they'd pull him from her case and declare him compromised. Someone else would be given his lead on the Black Bull Smuggling Ring and he'd be assigned elsewhere.

So why not just roll with the punches?

"You know," he said, his voice rumbly from sleep, "You don't make it easy to say no to you…" and yet… he didn't move one inch from his position with her.

Being a criminal, it was fairly important to be able to wake up at any little disturbance, since often it was the difference between life and death. So Rouge knew the instant that Lukas was awake, could feel his breathing change and how he tightened his grip on her the slightest fraction the moment he regained consciousness. The deep rumble of his voice, whispered sleepily by her ear, sent a shiver of warmth down her spine.

She became aware of exactly how they were positioned, and her lips curved into a slow, satisfied smile. The smile turned into a grin when she realized he had no intention of moving just yet either. She basked in the warmth that his body encased her in, paying particular attention to where his hand was pressed flat against her belly and how his leg was entwined intimately with her own.

She chuckled at his words, deliberately snuggling back into him and turning her head just slightly until she could peek at him out of the corner of her eye, peering through her tousled black hair.

"From you, I'm going to take that as a compliment. After all, you have been particularly stubborn in resisting my charm. It's quite impressive, actually." Her freckled nose wrinkled in amusement and soft humor glimmered in her eyes.

Even though he was a marine, and even though he was supposed to be her enemy, Rouge felt unusually comfortable and _safe_ with him. She'd slept better than she had in days, and feeling his warm breath against her hair and smelling his crisp, male scent as she woke felt incredibly good. She very rarely spent the night with the men she chose to sleep with, and right this moment, she couldn't fathom why. She wanted to wake up like this every morning.

But that idea was even more unsettling. She _couldn_ _'t_ wake up like this, with him, every morning. It wasn't going to happen. That thought was...saddening. Disturbing.

Rouge forced that feeling deep down and away, and focused on what she was supposed to be thinking about: seducing him. To get her way. For a moment, she'd forgotten the whole reason she was on this island with him. For a moment, it had felt...natural.

Mentally shaking herself, Rouge shifted until she was laying flat on her back, still encased in his arms, and looked up at him with eyes the color of a midnight sapphire, dark from sleep. Slowly, the wicked glint that always seemed to finds it's way in her gaze around him surfaced, and her lips pulled back in a crooked grin. "Don't lie, you like it. You may not have asked for it...but you _wanted_ me to curl up with you. I wanted it too...so I made it happen." She gave a tiny shrug, and reached up with one hand to lightly brush the hair from his brow.

Her eyes dropped to his lips, and she didn't even fight it. Leaning her head up, she lightly pressed her lips to his, tasting him.

The willpower to stop her, to push back and let the marine in him take the upper hand was completely lacking. Ah, hell, the marine in him liked her as much as the man in him did. The fact that she was a criminal excited him in a taboo-like way; she was the forbidden fruit.

And she tasted just as good.

It didn't take much to shift until he was laying over her, as she was practically under him anyway. The tubing attached to his arm aggravated him within seconds as it tangled and pulled taut. He paused, ripped the morphine drip out of his arm and tossed it aside. The machine started beeping like crazy so he also smashed the power source with his fist.

"Give me half an hour and I'll be completely lucid," he commented, tracking his mouth down her neck, "Maybe quicker, with how you're working me up…" just kissing her how the power to bring his blood to boil. Then again, he'd had a few days to dream about what happened the last time they started kissing, even in his feverish delusions. All the fever did was blur the line between reality and imaginary and make the dreams all the more vivid.

He'd be a liar if he said he didn't fancy giving it another shot with her. Resisting her had been purely survivalist; now the risk was heart-pounding.

Lukas sealed his mouth back to hers, his tongue diving beyond her lips to tango with hers. The majority of his weight was balanced on his knees and one hand supported beside her head. That left one hand free to slide up her shirt from her hip, over her stomach, to her ribs until he was stopped by her bra. He shaped his hand to the curve of her breast.

"You need to shift," he rumbled as he expertly tugged at the material covering her torso, "That hybrid form is hot as _fuck_ ," he exposed the peak of her breast and latched his mouth to it, swirling his tongue over the sensitive bud. Already, he could feel the premature goose bumps rippling over his skin at the thought of those claws of hers digging into his flesh. Even the fact that she'd probably draw blood excited him. Call him a masochist, but it may just have top slot on his 'Sexual Fantasies with the Dragon' list.

A slow, wicked grin curved her mouth, her head falling back in ecstasy as his lips claimed her breasts. "Oh really...? The big bad marine thinks my dragon is sexy?" she whispered, chuckling huskily. He was starting all kinds of fires in her with his hands and his mouth. It's like he'd thrown his restraint to the wind and said fuck it.

And it turned her on.

Her hand slithered out to grasp his hair at the back of his head, holding him to her breast as she let out a moan and arched her body seductively beneath him. Her other hand slid down his chest, down his tight, ridged abs, until she could cup him through his shorts and stroke him.

Just a kiss had started this inferno of heat that was now swirling through her, so fast it ignited from his kisses and licks. She was so tightly wound for this man that she felt like she was going to burst apart with wanting him. She usually did not deny herself a man she could tasty, but their unusual situation had pushed their attraction to these limits. She'd wanted him for so long...and now he was finally willing to let loose for a moment.

And he wanted to get kinky with her hybrid form? Rouge was so game.

"If that's what you want..." Rouge suddenly took the upperhand, forcefully rolling him over until he was on his back. With a playful nip to his chin with her teeth and one last gentle squeeze to the bulge in his shorts, Rouge released him and surged to her feet. She winked at him, her blue eyes glowing in the dim light of the morning, and said, "Then I'm more than happy to oblige."

In the blink of an eye, she shifted, her long elegant tail shooting out from her tailbone, tiny horns curving back from the top of her head. Glittering scales erupted over her back and the tops of her arms and thighs. Fire danced around her fangs as she grinned, then turned her back on him. Slowly, she started stripping off her clothing. First her tank top, then her shorts. Her hips shifted and swayed lustfully in a little strip dance as she finally turned towards him, and finished off by peeling away her bra...and finally her little pink thong. By the time she was naked, tail flickering out behind her lazily, she'd moved to be straddling his legs.

"I've never had anyone want to be with me like this...it's a big turn on, Lukas," she murmured, drawling his name deliciously as she emphasized her words by sliding her hand down her stomach, down her abdomen, and over her mound until she could touch herself. She bit her lip and smiled at him with dancing eyes. "Everything about you gets my juices flowing," she added, then dropped to her knees, spanning his thighs.

She planted one strong hand on his abdomen, pinning him down, then slid her other hand into his shorts, and wrapped her clawed fingers around the thick length of him, and pulled it free. Smiling with anticipation glowing in her blue, slitted eyes, Rouge dipped her head down and drew him into her mouth with a moan.

He hadn't been entirely sure just how far this was going to go when she started it, but as things stood right now, he was uncomfortably hard for her. No, more than just uncomfortable. He ached. It was the combination of a thousand excited butterflies brushing along his insides sending ripples through him and heat swirling around him so hot and fast that he was literally dizzy from it. He'd denied himself this pleasure for too long and it was taking him by force at this point.

She rolled them over – a shot went through him at her easy demonstration of strength – and she cupped him once more through his shorts before she jacked to her feet and took a step or two back. He propped himself up on his elbows and grinned slowly as the change happened, his green eyes darkening to a more hazel shade as glittering blue-black scales erupted all over her body except for that strip right down the front of her that remained her soft, suntanned flesh, blending seamlessly. A long elegant, deadly tail swished lazily around her ankles and when she gave him that wicked smirk she'd made famous, fire danced around her fangs and his cock jumped in his cargos.

But that was nothing compared to what she did next. She spun around… and got naked. Not in the desperate "I-can't-take-my-clothes-off-fast-enough" way that he'd shamelessly admit he did on occasion. She did it slowly, teasing him with a little sashay here and there, like she had all the time in the world. Why would she rush? It wasn't like he was going anywhere. He didn't think he was capable of standing at this point; he felt a little weak at the knees.

By the time she peeled off that little pink thong he'd seen in clips and phrases, he was biting down on his knuckles to keep from grinding his teeth and she was standing over him, her tail brushing against his legs. A thousand different scenarios had already played through his head. Seeing her naked was always a heart-stopper. She was the perfect female specimen, evenly proportioned, tight, fit body. She was sexy as hell most of the time yet given the right circumstances, he'd go as far as to say she was beautiful.

"Then you haven't been with a real man," he replied breathlessly, eyes riveted to her hand as she traced it down her body until her fingers brushed against her sex. He sucked in his breath as his blood rushed to his head before she dropped down over his thighs and planted that clawed hand on his stomach. The difference in her power in this form was substantial and it turned him on more than it should that she was on par with him.

Those claws rasped against his skin and he twitched in response, his skin erupting in goose bumps. Then, she expertly unfastened his shorts and ripped them down to pop his cock free and before he could get a word in edgewise, she sucked him into her mouth with a moan and he dropped flat against the bedroll with a stuttered gasp. His hands went right to her hair and yanked it out of its thick bun until all those curls were cascading over his palms and legs and abdomen. Her mouth and tongue were hot against him, her throaty moans ricocheting through him. In her hybrid form like this, she was a cross between an angel and a demon sent to kill him and take him away.

As a tingle shot down his spine and into his cock, he was struck by suddenly not wanting it this way. He didn't want the "my-turn-your-turn" orgasm. And… well, he was certain she wasn't going to object to what he had in mind.

"Stop," he growled, planting his palm on her forehead and pushing her head back, "Come 'ere," he sat forward and literally grabbed her by her hips. Her dragon scales were soft and hard, like flexible steel wrapped over skin. He dragged her forward, not bothering about his roughness because of the state of her being until she was straddling his chest. He paused for a minute, distracted and ran his hands over her body from her thighs up over her hips, her ribs and her breasts, committing her to memory before he got back on track.

"Turn around, give me your ass," he forcibly rotated her around, her knees straddling his shoulders and planted a hand on her spine to bend her forward while his other hand got busy rubbing against her hot, wet flesh, "Now suck my cock," he sucked his thumb into his mouth to play with her ass at the same time as he sealed his mouth over her sex, his tongue working her out. He groaned against her flesh.

The way he took charge of the situation totally fired her up. Most of the men she'd slept with had been fairly intimidated by her, and usually let her set the rules for bedroom play. Never had she been with a man who wasn't afraid to be physical with her, didn't treat her like she'd break. She may be small, but she was strong, and Lukas had no problem physically moving her to exactly where he wanted her.

She was pleasantly surprised. He could have just enjoyed his blow job, but instead he wanted to give her pleasure the same time he was getting it. It was different, unusual, a position she'd never been in before. For a split second she had a moment of uncertainty, feeling vulnerable and exposed, but the sensation of his lips against her core wiped all thoughts from her mind.

A moan was wrenched from her lips, and for a moment she was frozen, her back arched, her head thrown back, and her tail whipping from side to side from the sheer pleasure ripping through her. Finally she broke free from her paralysis, and let out a slow, husky chuckle. "You're just full of surprises, Lukas...I should have tried to get you in my bed sooner."

She wrapped her hand around the base of his rigid member and braced her other hand on his thigh, her talons lightly digging in to his flesh as he continued to rock her world. Then she leaned her head down and drew him into her mouth, her tongue curling and sliding over his shaft.

The pleasure was overwhelming. She could feel his pleasure in the way his cock jumped and pulsed in her grip and against her tongue, and it boosted her own pleasure. It was the most unusual sensation, to be giving pleasure the same time as receiving it. Within seconds, she was moaning and writhing above him as she frantically worked him with her hand and her mouth.


	6. Chapter 6

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Her comment made him chuckle, enough that he had to pull away from her flesh, "Not for lack of trying," he replied huskily, before getting back to business.

He felt her mouth slide over his cock again and the muscles in his lower abdomen twitched from the hot pleasure that ripped through him. It was incredibly arousing, to be hearing her sexy sounds and knowing that he was pulling those from her at the same time as her sinful lips worked him up.

Not for the first time, it crossed his mind how easy it would be to just fuck. Insert tab A into slot B, so to speak. Both of them were naked and primed and he _knew_ that she would be a fantastic lover. She'd blow his mind and it was exciting and hot to think about. Even though the encounters that they've had were brief, anything he had in the past with other women couldn't hold a candle to her flame. Not even his ex-fiancée had the kind of spunk and fire Rouge had.

He could tell she was getting close to orgasm by the way her voice pitched and her hands and mouth pumped him more urgently. His blood spiked, making his heart pound faster in anticipation. That tingle and heat rushed down his spine and settled in his stomach, the head of his cock pulsating to the rhythm of his heart.

There was no stopping it – and sometimes he could do that, suck it back a little – but not with her. Colors exploded and his whole body tensed and he growled some rendition of her name against her core as the most powerful orgasm of his life tumbled through his body. It was so good it _hurt_ but he didn't move from his post.

"Come for me, Rouge…" he rumbled.

She knew when he reached his limit, when his body was on the verge of climax. She could feel the tension that practically reverberated through his whole body. Just knowing she had him on the edge of control ramped her up even more, pulling a deep moan from her throat.

She tightened her fist and worked him faster, harder, until she felt his hips jack up slightly, could feel his stuttered breath against her core. And as he came apart under her fingers, she greedily sucked and licked at his cock until she'd robbed him and left him dry. Then she could no longer hold herself back.

At his bidding, and encouraged by his masterful administrations of his tongue and fingers, Rouge let herself go and fell over the edge. She tossed her head back and let out a cry as she climaxed, her fingers indadvertedly tightening around the base of his cock, her tail lashing out, her wings stretching wide and fluttering helplessly as her body bowed and arched, her legs quivering from the effort to keep herself from collapsing down on him.

Finally the rage of fiery pleasure subsided, and her wings slowly folded down across her back, her head fell forward, and a long sigh of pure satisfaction hissed from between her lips. Grinning in spite of her sudden fatigue, Rouge let herself fall to the side. By the time her body hit the bedroll with a small thump, she'd shifted back into her full human form. From her side, she rolled over onto her back, fighting to control her breathing. Like a big cat, she slid her arms above her head and stretched her body out with a happy groan, then finally lay still.

"That...was pretty awesome. I have to say, marine, you've got some pretty kinky ideas in that head of yours...I like it," Rouge lifted her head to look over to him, her eyes glowing with satisfaction and wicked delight. Naked as the day she was born and completely unconcerned about it, Rouge shifted around until she was laying on her belly now, next to him, and propped her head up on her hands as she peered down at him, her grin still playing at the edges of her lips.

Listening to her and watching her reaction as he rocked her world was heady and gave him the deep purr of male satisfaction in the pit of his chest. It felt good to give it as good as he got.

As she stretched her sexy as sin body and repositioned herself to sprawl next to him on her belly with her chin in her hands, he caught his shorts from around his ankles and hiked them up over his hips, leaving them unbuttoned on the top. He rolled to the side and cocked his elbow and propped his head in his hand to glance at her with a totally self-satisfied smirk on his face. Now that he was winding down from arousal and orgasm, he was feeling a little light-headed and post-coital, but overall invigorated.

He was an idiot. What the fuck was he doing? His eyes skated over the curls that tumbled down over her shoulders and brushed the mat, effectively hiding most of her torso from his view yet offering him a sexy landscape of the curve of her spine right down to the swell of her tush and long legs that she gently pumped back and forth in space. Ah, he was fucked. Somewhere between chasing her and being kidnapped and held hostage on this island, he had compromised his mission to toss her sweet ass in jail. How could he possibly be okay with clapping her in irons when he was having a clandestine affair with her?

And besides that… he was finding more and more that she was a good person and that was what he hated about the justice system. Every now and again, baddies would pop up that weren't really bad people, but simply those that chose a lifestyle opposite of his. Like the Straw Hats, who laid waste to outlaws all the time and defended justice when they saw it without the desire to be heroes.

Every choice has a consequence and he held himself to that, but things always got a little blurry when he had the chance to see the good inside the bad that balanced out the person. Like in the case of Rouge. What a perfect opportunity she had to kill him when he was on his death bed three days ago and yet, she nursed him back to health.

He was just fucked. Compromised. Compromised from the moment he first spoke to her.

"How can I not be kinky when you sport claws and fangs on a good day?" he replied, "All we need is some chains and a whip and we'd have a regular S and M going on," he grinned, "Frankly, I'm not opposed to that." He was a vice admiral. His pain tolerance was through the roof. He abused his body every day. There wasn't anything she could do to him that was going to hurt him.

Rouge's grin widened at his words and she let out a husky chuckle, tilting her head to the side and causing her mass of curls to tumbled down over one shoulder. "I'm not sure if you could handle the type of S and M that I could bring to the table...then again, you've proven to be quite durable and resistant to dying so far."

Her eyes twinkled with mirth, flickering over the relaxed features of his face. He looked so damn good in her bed, and she felt like she couldn't take her eyes off him. Despite being bedridden for the past couple of days, his body was still roped in thick muscles that looked menacing even in his post-coital condition. When you add in the fact that he was just as quick with his tongue-both figuratively and physically, it turns out-as he was in battle, the package was devastating. He was so easy to be around, so easy to enjoy his presence. So damn sexy.

Why the hell did he had to be a marine?

Rouge finally tore her eyes away from him. Dammit, she liked him too much. How was she supposed to never see him again after she released him from this island? She wanted to be his friend, but marines and criminals couldn't be friends in the long run, or at least, not very easily.

Deciding she needed to put a little space between them, Rouge pushed herself up to her feet, then headed over to the fire pit to get breakfast started. "How do you like your eggs, marine?" she asked over her shoulder, and pull out a frying pan from the shelf of cooking implements she had near the fire pit.

That night, five members of the Bull's Twelve Inner Circle met to discuss business on the moderately sized island aptly named the Twin River Island, in the largest harbor town situation directly between the two rivers that bisect much of the island. The meeting lasted three hours, and like many of the Inner Circle's meetings, alcohol was abundant and the meeting turned into a social party.

However, during this time two forces converged on the harbor town, one from each of the two rivers that flank it. Swabbed in black, over twenty men and women closed in on the local inn where the meeting was being held. The forces moving in from the East belong to Mario Lawash, head of the Lawash Smuggling ring, and the forces moving from the West belong to Don de Maccello.

With Mario's little brother Tumas heading the operation, both forces combined at exactly one am, and raided the inn.

The skirmish lasted for a mere ten minutes, with heavy losses sustained by many of Lawash and De Macello's men. But eventually the sheer numbers and Tumas' powerful devil fruit powers-the ability to control the perception of light by individuals within range of his person-eventually turned the tides. Four of the Inner Circle members were moderately to severely injured as a result of their sudden blindness and confusion, and one was overpowered and seized by Tumas himself and three of his leading men.

This member was Niki "The Changeling" McKannon.

Once the red-headed female was incapacitated and removed from the location, the surviving Lawash and De Maccello men withdrew, and disappeared into the night, using the twin rivers for a quick getaway.

In the three days that followed the assault, the Black Bull himself declared all current business transactions to be on temporary hold in order to declare war on the Lawash Smuggling Ring. In the time between the assault and this declaration of war, the Bull used many of his connections in order to discover the identity of the groups who assault his Inner Circle, the location for their main base of operation, and also the location of where his trusted and valued agent had been taken to and if she was still alive.

The information that resulted from the Bull's angry inquiries was the following: The Lawash Brothers and Don de Maccello have formed an alliance with the intent of toppling the current King of smuggler rings, the Black Bull Smuggling Ring. The four female agents of the Inner Circle, all of whom are renown for their beauty and deadliness, have been promised to the Don to add to his "collection." The assault on Twin River Island served two purposes; to instigate a war with the Bull and to kidnap and hold the agent Niki "The Changeling" McKannon, first to be used as bait to draw out the Bull and the Inner Circle, then to be given to the Don as part of Lawash and de Maccello's contract with one another. The base of operations for the combined forces of the Lawash Smuggling Ring and Don de Maccello's men was on Sabaody, where Lawash's headquarters was rumored to be stationed due to the ideal location of the island to serve both the first half of the grand line and the second one with their goods. They were using one of the Don's extensive and well protected estates to hold the agent Niki, who's location within the estate was as of yet unknown.

Due to the substantial defenses, both in manpower and in physical construction, of the estate, the Black Bull has decided to launch a full assault utilizing all of his remaining Inner Circle members. Such an all-out declaration of war between two of the leading smuggling rings in existence along with one of the wealthiest and most powerful men of nobility had bred numerous whisperings across the Grand Line. No one, no matter their power, got away with assaulting the Inner Circle and kidnapping one of its members. The Bull was renown for his ferocious tenacity in his business deals, and also for his black anger when anyone dared to mess with his nakama. The rumors of such a powerful figure rallying his most renown forces on a single assault sent shivers of fear through the underworld, and had Marine's everywhere on high alert.

Within the week, the Bull's true fearsomeness would be unleashed on Sabaody.

Four days after the assault, a ship appeared on the horizon in the early morning. Rouge was in flight during its approach, returning from her morning bath, and diverted herself towards the beach it was heading for. By the time she'd shifted back to her human form and was standing ankle-deep in sand, the ship had come within twenty yards of the beach.

Her sharp eyes picked out the grim faces of Leon and Teddy, and behind them, a heavily bandaged Kugo, another member of the Inner Circle. With a sudden sense of dread, Rouge couldn't wait any longer. She leapt into the air, and black dragon wings propelled her to the ship. She landed in a crouch on the deck of the ship, her eyes flickering back and forth between Leon and Teddy's faces. Not even the hint of a smile glimmered in either one of their eyes, and this was unusual when so much time had passed between their last visits with one another.

"What's wrong?" Rouge demanded, straightening into her full stance. Her eyes darted over to Kugo. "What happened to you?"

"There was an attack, four nights ago. Lawash finally made his move, like you thought he would. He waited much longer than anyone every anticipated, so no one was expecting it...He's teamed up with your favorite Don," Leon supplied, his eyes glittering with anger. Next to him, Teddy stood stoically, his jaw clamped shut so tightly she could see his neck muscles straining.

Rouge stared at Leon for a moment, then turned her gaze back on Kugo. "You got your ass kicked by the likes of the Lawash brothers?" she asked, her voice teetering between surprised anger and a teasing jibe.

"It was a surprise attack. Tumas used his ability before any of us even knew they were there! But Rouge..." Kugo's voice died away, and his expression shifted to one of helpless anger. "They got Niki," he finally whispered, and then as if he couldn't bear to look at Rouge from his own shame, he turned his eyes down and dropped his face into his hands. "We weren't expecting them to just attack, grab her, and run, but..."

Rouge went deaf to the rest of his words as her world spun dangerously and a cold feeling seeped into her chest.

"Niki? They...they kidnapped her?" she finally whispered, turning her face to Teddy's stoic one. The dark man's eyes became as black as obsidian, and slowly he nodded his head.

Rouge felt like she'd just been sucker punched. Panic instantly filled her chest, and her fingers curled into fists. She'd seen the look in the Don's eyes when he thought he had her. The things he could do to Niki...

"Where is she?" Rouge demanded, and her voice trembled with so much fury that Leon took an involuntary step back and his eyes widened as fire danced around Rouge's lips and nose.

There was a silence, then finally Teddy stepped closer to Rouge, reached out his two large hands, and grasped the dragon woman by her slender, shaking shoulders. "She is being used as bait on Sabaody to lure out the boss. Mario knows the Bull will throw everything he has at them to get Niki back, and he's banking on that to annihilate our ring once and for all. We're here...to get you. We need you in this battle. We need you to help us get Niki back."

Rouge stared up at Teddy as they locked eyes, and a wordless determination passed between them. Rouge's shaking fury slowly subsided into a calm, cold anger that simmered below the surface. Only her slightly glowing eyes betrayed the tempest of emotions below the surface as Rouge lifted her chin, and said in a cold voice, "I _will_ get her back. And _we_ _will_ crush Mario and his brother, along with that worthless Don, until there is nothing left of them but ash."

Only then did a grim smile pass across Leon, Teddy, and Kugo's faces as they nodded in agreement.

Her mind racing, Rouge stepped back from her nakama and looked across the ocean, towards the rocky reef that concealed her own ship. After a moment of silence, she finally said, "We will use my ship; she's much faster. You will leave this ship here on the shore. Prepare to transfers your gear to my ship. We will leave within an hour."

A frown flittered across Leon's brow. "Leave this ship? But, Rouge-"

"Leon, I've made my decision. You know I have a responsibility here that I simply cannot abandon." At this, Kugo's expression became confused, but he said nothing. "Saving Niki is more important. Don't worry about the consequences...I can handle it."

"You're just going to let him go?" Teddy asked with a black scowl on his face.

"Yes. Don't question me, I know what I'm doing."

"Let who go?" Kugo finally asked, but neither Leon, Teddy, nor Rouge spared him a glance. Kugo scowled even more, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you're sure..." Leon murmured, then sighed and shrugged. "We will prepare. Go get your ship and your supplies. We meet up with the Bull and the rest of the Circle in three days, then... we go to war."

The usual grin that had been missing from her features suddenly reappeared, but the expression was so vicious that Kugo shook his head with a whistle as the dragon took off from the deck and shot towards the distant reef. "Man...she's scary."

"Yeah she is...I don't think the Lawash brothers or that Don understand the pain coming their way. I almost feel bad for them," Leon dropped his hands to his hips and sighed. "Alright, let's do this."

Within thirty minutes, Rouge's ship was moored next to Leon's and all of the necessary equipment and gear had been transferred. Rouge ensured that enough supplies were left on the remaining ship so that when Lukas found it, he would be able to sail to the nearest inhabited island. Rouge decided she couldn't let him know where she was going; he was a marine, and the less the marines were involved, the better. She'd accepted that when it came down to Rouge's life or Niki's, she was going to have to trust her gut that Lukas would keep quiet about her identity. She had no choice, and she couldn't risk him trying to stop her.

With the knowledge that Lukas would be in the middle of his morning exercises on the beach below her cavern, Rouge went the long way around to get to her cave without alerting him to her presence. Then she hurried to pack all of her essentials in record time, before headinh back towards the beach where the ships were moored.

Her thoughts raced with worry for Niki, which she was grateful for because she didn't want to analyze the fact that each wingbeat which brought her closer to never seeing Lukas Knowles again produced a terrible weight in her chest, only made ignorable by an even more alarming weight caused by the horrifying thoughts of what her best friend must be going through.

 _Wait for me Niki...I_ _'_ _m coming for you_ , Rouge vowed silently. _Goodbye...Lukas._

For reasons he didn't want to ruminate on, Rouge and him came to a silent, unspoken agreement about him staying in her cave with her. She never asked him to leave and he never volunteered. Frankly, the cave was more comfortable than living near the lagoon and he wasn't apt to go near standing water anytime soon.

The next four days that went by he would hedge to say it was… blissful. And he never thought he'd pair that word with this entire situation ever. He was her hostage and yet, the longer he spent here in this god-forsaken jungle with her, it felt less and less like a kidnapping and more like… like she'd hijacked him from his responsibility and for the first time in his life, he didn't have anything to do but lounge in the sun and spend time with her. Like a vacation.

They spent the days sorta doing their own thing. He'd go out to do his morning routine, building up his strength again and she would fly about doing whatever she did with her time. When they happened to both be in the cave at the same time, they'd play games and share meals together. Or talk. Which was both odd and comforting at the same time. At night… well. Let's just say that he'd had a taste of the forbidden fruit so it was impossible not to have another nibble now and again.

It was the morning of the fourth day like this that he froze halfway through his run as a thought occurred to him. A thought that struck a tiny cord of panic through him.

He was in a god-damned relationship with her.

He didn't know when, but at some point, he stopped trying to get off the island, no longer cared that she was the daughter of the late Fire Fist Ace and no longer actively cared about when she was going to set him free. He slept in her living space with her, shared meals with her, actively sought to spent time with her and fooled around with her. They woke up snuggling in the morning and he didn't care that she was trying to seduce him anymore because he stopped resisting it. He'd thrown caution to the wind and apparently, it was blowing in her direction.

It might be fucked up, but he was in a relationship with her. How easy it had been, to fall into that pattern with her, so easy he hadn't even noticed until now. And as the thoughts raced around his head, he shocked himself in thinking that he… he really didn't want her to set him free. Setting him free meant that he would have to go back to the Marines, explain that he'd be held captive by her, he'd be pulled from her case and likely, he'd never see her again. What startled him was how much his body physically rejected that idea.

He was certain that it hadn't been that long ago that he rejected her coming on to him. When had that changed? When had he stopped seeing the criminal and started seeing the woman?

Ah, shit, son. He'd seen the woman in her from the very beginning. All along, he'd been fucked. Just somewhere along the way, he'd started seeing less and less of the criminal until all that was left was woman. When had that happened? It must have been when he was on his death bed and he'd seen that different side of her, the side that pushed away the fact that he was her enemy and she called a doctor in to get him better. It had been a gentler side to that fiery, sassy personality she had.

Lukas ran his hand through his blonde hair, the slight perspiration making it stand up on end. Well. He was in a right conundrum now. Damn it, why did everything always have to be so intense with him? This was why he avoided getting too close to women. He always got attached, like he was subconsciously seeking another long-term commitment. Must be his biological clock ticking, his mother's voice whispering in his ear to get himself a good woman and have her some grandbabies or something.

Rouge was not a good woman. She was bad. He liked that about her. And that was such a problem. If she was a civilian, this wouldn't be such an issue. But she was a flipping criminal and a world-class one at that and he was a vice-admiral. They shouldn't even be shaking hands, let alone the things they had been doing. And now he was in pretty fucking deep.

It was gonna come down to one thing; he was going to have to choose. Marines or Rouge.

The choice was simple; marines. He couldn't throw his whole life away like that. He had his family to take care of, people who relied on him. He'd been in the military since he was ten years old. He had nothing else. So… why did he suddenly feel so short of breath thinking about leaving her?

Once more confused and partially wishing he'd never found out her identity, he dug his feet into the ground and continued his run around the island. He didn't realize it, but he'd been stopped, lost in his thoughts, for a good fifteen minutes. That meant that he wasn't where Rouge had been expecting him to be.

He stopped short when he came onto a ridge that overlooked the beach. Two boats were docked there. Two. He flipped his eyes back and forth as a myriad of emotions tumbled through him. Firstly; suspicion. He could see that there were three men on board and his Haki confirmed it. He could also sense Rouge not too far away. Second; panic. Did she know that these men were here? What did they want? If she did know them… there were supplies on those skiffs. Were they coming to drop off… or pick up? A delivery? No. His Haki was picking up on waves of anger and determination and fear. His eyes skittered to the second skiff, the one the men weren't standing on. It looked like they intended to leave it here.

It clicked and it made him a little light headed. She was leaving. She was leaving with those men – they had to be her nakama – and that second boat was for him. It had to be. A part of him felt a little relieved. He could finally leave and he was no longer trapped here indefinitely. A much bigger part of him – considering where his thoughts were just minutes before – felt a great pressure right in the center of his chest. She was leaving him.

 _Alright, just think this through rationally_ , he thought to himself. His internal voice was right. He needed to take his emotions out of this just for a minute. If, assuming that that second boat was intended for him, she was leaving, that meant that she was setting him free. That must mean that she trusted him to keep her secret safe. That seemed off. They hadn't discussed it at all. Certainly, she cared enough about her mother and the straw hats to discuss something like keeping her identity from the marines. Not that he ever planned to tell, but still. She didn't know that. This was all very… abrupt.

Lukas jogged across the ridge until he reached a point that he could slide down and onto the sand. The moment he was in view of the skiffs, all three men turned their eyes to him. he wasn't so far away that he missed it when one man, heavily bandaged for some reason, turned to the others and said, "So, I'm gonna guess that _that_ is her responsibility here?"

"What's going on here?" Lukas demanded, "Who are you? Why are you here and where are you going?"

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't see Lukas until she was almost on top of him. Her wings snapped forward and she backpedalled for a moment before abruptly dropping down and landing in the sand next to him with a thump.

By the time she straightened, she'd shifted back to her full human form, and a scowl of displeasure marred her normally jovial features. She was angry, could feel that her chest was tight from it, and realized that she wasn't mad AT him, she was mad that she hadn't gotten away clean. Because now she had to deal with goodbyes, and she sucked at them.

"Lukas! What the hell are you doing here?" she burst out before she could pull it back in. She grimaced at him, swung around, tossed her backpack high in the air and straight into Leon's waiting arms, then swung back. "Never mind, that's a dumb question..."

She paused, closed her eyes and pinched the bridge between her nose, then sighed. "Look...something came up, Lukas...it's really important, and I need to take care of it. So I'm leaving you this boat, and there are enough supplies for you to make it to several inhabited islands. There should be a couple of eternal poses in there too."

"Rouge, who is this guy? Why is he-" the voice was abruptly cut off when Teddy smacked Kugo up the side of the head and shot him a glare so severe that the man paled a little.

"He's a vice admiral," Leon supplied, a cold edge to his voice as he glared down at the blond man. Next to him, Kugo's mouth popped open in surprise and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"What the hell is a vice admiral doing on this island?!" Kugo practically squeaked, looking frantically between the dark-haired woman and the marine.

Rouge felt like her hackles were raised and for some ridiculous reason, she was rearing and ready to defend Lukas. Whipping around, she pinned Kugo and Leon with a look so frightening that both men took a step back. Then, wordlessly, she turned back to Lukas, grabbed him by the arm, and practically dragged him away from the moored ship. She didn't stop until they were out of listening range.

Turning her back to the sea, she faced Lukas and crossed her arms over her chest, her blue vest cinching closed over her bikini. "I know we haven't talk about...well...my identity...but this is something I need to do, and I'm not just going to leave you here." _If I don_ _'_ _t make it back, you_ _'_ _d be screwed_ , she thought, but she kept that to herself. "So all I can do is hope that you'll keep my secret. I'm sure you'll be happy to be rid of me and this island anyways. Be careful about the reefs that surround this island, and I recommend heading west, that's the nearest marine base." Rouge wasn't looking at him, but rather had her eyes bouncing from tree to rock to tree behind and to the side of him as she talked, and her voice was strictly matter of fact. Her usual teasing was gone, and she was too stressed to even try to bring up a fake facade. It wouldn't matter though, she was sure he'd be happy to be free. "Good luck, marine," she said finally, and her eyes darted up to his for the briefest of moments, a moment that seemed suspended in time. Then she turned to leave.

The moment he spotted Rouge, saw the tense expression of fury on her face, he knew something was terribly wrong. He couldn't even get a word in edgewise as he bounced his eyes back and forth between her and her nakama as they talked like he wasn't there before she confirmed his suspicions and that pressure in his chest suddenly seemed ten times heavier.

She was leaving him. No, she was setting him free because she had to up and leave the island for some reason.

"Wait… Rouge… no…" he started before she grabbed him by his wrist and all but dragged him off the beach and into the beginnings of the jungle. He let her lead him, having words to say to her anyway and certain that she wasn't gonna want him to say them in front of her friends.

"You can't just leave me!" he blurted out at the end of her tirade, catching her thin wrist in his hand and stopping her from retreating. He hadn't missed the way her eyes hadn't touched upon his and instead she had seemed to find the scenery more pleasant. His Haki was primed to catch all her emotions, having spent so much time with her in the last few weeks he was very attuned to her well-being and what was rolling off her were waves of hurt, determination and black fury. She was all business for some reason.

"So… so that's it?" he reigned in some of that fleeting panic he had been feeling since earlier on his run when he came to some startling conclusions, "You kidnap me, take me away from my whole life, my career, my family and maroon me on this fucking island with you so that you can determine whether or not I'm good enough to keep your dirty little secret and then just like that, you're setting me free? How do you know I'm not going to report back to the Fleet Admiral the moment I land at a marine base? Why have you suddenly decided that you trust me enough?"

She didn't meet his eyes so he grabbed her chin and turned her face up to his. He sorted through the pieces in his head. The fire power that came to collect her, all of them he recognized as members of the Black Bull smuggling ring. The way they looked, a little rough around the edges, recently bruised and beaten and one poor sucker bandaged heavily. The anger and fear pulsating around her, around them. _Something important came up_ _…_

Something she feared more than she feared him and his ability to destroy her whole life.

"What are you throwing your life away for?" he whispered.

The warmth that seeped into her skin from where his fingers held her chin was all she could focus on for a moment. The scent of him, his closeness, everything about it was making her mind slow to react to his words, his actions. She was stunned, truly, that he was actually fighting for her to _stay,_ even if he didn't say it in so many words. She was stunned by how much it pleased her, how much she wanted to be able to just...stay on this island with him a little bit longer.

But that wasn't reality. Reality was much less pleasing.

Her lashes swept down, briefly masking her glowing blue eyes. Since when was he someone she couldn't keep her sass up when she needed to? Since when was he able to disarm her so easily? She couldn't be pussyfooting around with him right now. She took a second to muster up her normal fire, and when she looked back up at him, her gaze was hard. "I'm not throwing my life away. It's just that I'd rather have my life ruined by a marine with a wagging tongue than let my friend die because I wasn't there to kick some ass."

Rouge pulled her chin out of his grasp and fell back a step, her words becoming more tense by the second. "I no longer have the luxury to decide whether or not you're trustworthy. Just take the ship and enjoy your freedom. What you do after you leave this island is now out of my hands, because I'm needed and it's not like I can take you with me. The last thing I need for this mission is for a marine to start waving his authority around a bunch of criminals. Or to get us caught. I can't risk that, not when someone else is depending on me."

This side of her was completely at odds to what he was used to dealing with. He was expecting more fire, more smoke, more… _Rouge_ and instead he was getting this tense and terse woman practically growling at him through her teeth as she vaguely explained her predicament.

And that she no longer had the _luxury_ to decide whether she trusted him or not.

He threw his hands up in surrender, "This was a complete waste of time then," he decided, "You and I are no better off now than we were three weeks ago. Nothing was accomplished here," he ran his hands through his hair, sticking it up straight and turned around for a minute to gather his wits about him before he faced her again, "You know, I was never gonna tell anyone anyway, about you, Portgas D. Rouge," he accentuated her name on purpose, "But I decided to wait before I admitted that to you, hoping I could learn about your character, to better capture you when the time came," he did that thing with his hand in his hair again, a nervous gesture, "Because I knew that if I said anything, catching you wouldn't be as fun anymore because you'd be persecuted for Ace's crimes as well as your own and I find that horribly unjust, just like his death was unjust too."

He draped his hands over his hips, his eyes bouncing around the jungle, taking it in, taking a moment to think, "Doesn't matter now though, because you were ready to let me go before I told you that. Fine," he turned around and took two steps to leave before something occurred to him in the blink of an eye, thoughts so fast blurring through his mind. It was enough to give him pause, then he turned to face her again, "No. No, actually. I'm coming with you. The moment I go crawling back to the marines, they are gonna give me all sorts of psychiatric tests to make sure I'm not compromised then take me out of rotation for a while. I might as well get some ass kicking in before I'm confined to a desk for six months," he shouldered past her to head to the boats.

"Oh," he glanced over his shoulder at her, "And I'll throw my authority around all I want. Doesn't seem to bother you any," he raked his eyes over her, shrugged, then continued walking.

Rouge stared after Lukas with her mouth hanging open in shock at his tirade of sorts. Part of why she was so stunned was because when he confessed that he never intended to rat her out anyway, she believed him. She realized right then that letting him go was the right decision, because he wasn't going to turn her in as Portgas D. Rouge, but as the Dragon Smuggler. Even more shocking was that his words convinced her that he didn't really want to turn her in at all. He may not be ready to admit that to himself, but Rouge had an instinct for people that was rarely wrong, and after all these weeks with him, she was finally secure enough to believe it.

But allow him to accompany her straight into a war between two criminal organizations?

Yeah, right...NOT.

Even if he did look sexy as hell strutting his way down the beach to the ship, she absolutely could NOT allow him to come with them.

"I don't think so!" Rouge finally found her voice again, and shouted after him. With a growl of annoyance, Rouge took off after him, sand flying in the wake of her booted feet. Lukas had already made it to the edge of the ship and was facing down three stubborn smugglers by the time she caught up with him. Leon, Teddy, and Kugo stood shoulder to shoulder, arms crossed, directly above Lukas on deck, and they didn't seem keen on moving.

"Take a vice admiral into the middle of a war?! Are you insane? That would be like waving a giant red flag that said 'come arrest us marines!' to the whole friggin' island! It's not like people wouldn't recognize someone with this much fame," Leon's voice pitched sarcastically high and he waved his hand in front of him with a face of intense disproval.

Rouge let out a vicious hiss and leapt up into the air, overtaking Lukas and knocking her men down with the draft as she shot onto the deck. Her boots landed with a loud thud and her wings swiftly folded and disappeared across her back as she turned to face all four of them, since Lukas had stubbornly persisted his way up onto the deck. Leon, Teddy, and Kugo scrambled back up to their feet and made to lunge at Lukas, but in the blink of an eye, Rouge was between them, her back to Lukas, facing down her nakama.

All three instantly froze, but Teddy continued to scowl darkly.

"I don't need help dealing with _my_ responsibility, thank you," she sweetly reminded the three, and after a tense moment of stubborn refusal, the men backed down and retreated to the other side of the deck, but continued to eye Lukas suspiciously and carefully.

Rouge whirled back around on Lukas, and pegged him with a glare. "You are too recognizable and a person of great interest right now since everyone in the world knows you've gone missing. You would be a huge liability." Her words were frank, and the way she cocked her hip out and propped her hands on them spoke a little of her normal sass.

He crossed his arms over his bare chest, not at all perturbed by her sass and refusal to let him go. He was confident though; he at least made his way onto the deck. Short of tossing his ass off the boat, she wasn't going anywhere without him. A war, the boys said? Hell ya. Sounded like fun.

And no way was she going to _war_ without him.

"I'd be a huge _asset_ ," he drawled, "Not that you saw any of my extensive skills with weaponry because you didn't allow me even a knife to whittle wood for three weeks, but I'm a trained sniper. I can shoot a target dead on at more than 1000 meters. And I'll wear a mask, if my good looks bother you. Besides, no one's gonna be expecting a vice admiral to be running amok with a bunch of smugglers."

He could move like a ghost, if he wanted. No one would even know he was there, except when they suddenly found a swath of dead bodies in their way and the path clear.

"And don't worry. I won't go shooting your nakama," he gave a little wolfish grin, "We lose thirty percent of the bounty cut if you're dead."

He perched on the edge of the ship, "I'm not leaving," he added pointedly to Rouge, "Either I go on this skiff, or I follow you in that one," he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at the other boat, "And it'll be worse for you in terms of _liability_ if I show up alone, chasing after you. I'll be spotted instantly," the marines would be on him like a cheap suit whereas if he snuck in among a host of criminals, people wouldn't really look twice.

"So, who are we fighting?" he asked, not at all bothered by the cold and suspicious looks he was getting from the three males on board. He wasn't easily intimidated and he had faith that a) he could take them if he had to and b) Rouge wouldn't let them kill him.

Teddy's eyes narrowed and Leon shifted his weight from foot to foot while both men glared at the vice admiral. Kugo still seemed to be in shock over the notoriety of their newcomer and was gaping open-mouthed between Rouge and Lukas like a fish out of water.

Rouge was also aghast, staring at Lukas like he'd sprouted another head. He was fucking serious. He wanted to come with her to wage war, and he was stubborn enough that she _did_ believe he'd try to follow in the other skiff if she denied him access to hers.

"Are you insane? Maybe that bug bite knocked a few screws lose in your head," Rouge marched right up to him, grabbed him by the ear, and forcibly dragged his head down to stare theatrically into his ear with a scowl on her face. "Maybe your brain fell out the last time we trained, because it sounds like to me that you are volunteering to _help criminals_."

She released his ear and cross her arms over her chest again, pinning him with a glare. "Even if you will be fighting against criminals, you'll still be doing it for the benefit of other criminals, such as myself. Are you sure you can do something like that?"

Teddy had been watching their encounter with rapt attention, his face an unreadable mask. He was aware of the situation, and he and Niki alone knew Rouge's true identity and why the Vice Admiral was being held hostage on the island. Now, as he watched the pair arguing with each other, he realized that his nakama had made a grave mistake.

She liked the man. The way her body leaned towards the vice admiral, the flippant ease with which she got right up in his space...Teddy's eyes narrowed even more, studying the way they were staring at each other, and he knew, right then, that they had been intimate in some way. Teddy had always been known for his perceptive nature, and was often sought as counsel by the Bull himself for judgements of character.

What he was seeing now...was a tragedy waiting to happen. She didn't just like him...that vice admiral liked his Dragon just as much. Neither of them seemed aware of this attraction or they were denying it of themselves, but it was obvious to Teddy.

And this Vice Admiral was going to help them, he knew. He was going to help them...because of Rouge.

"Rouge." Teddy's deep voice interrupted them as Teddy pushed away from the railing and made it was over to them. He towered over Rouge, standing just behind her, and dropped both of his heavy hands down on her narrow shoulders. "Time is of the essence. Please prepare your ship for departure and set the coordinates."

Rouge stiffened, and tilted her head back until she could stare up at the black man upside down. "But Teddy, this is-"

"Rouge, please trust me and beging your preparations. We will have plenty of time for talk on route," Teddy persisted calmly, squeezing her shoulders gently until Rouge finally let out a defeated-albeit disgruntled-sigh.

She shot Lukas one more glare, poked his chest with one finger, and said, "We're not done here buddy...I have more words I'd like to drip in that empty head of yours." But before she could even finish her words, Teddy was already steering her to the side, then gave her a gentle push. The dragon turned her feisty glare on Teddy, flipped her hair over her shoulder with a growl, and headed below deck.

A moment of silence followed, and Leon and Kugo exchanged wary glances before hoping up above the cabin to begin pulling at the riggings. Teddy turned the full weight of his midnight stare back on Lukas, and regarded him in silence for almost a full minute. Finally, when he spoke, his voice was a deep rumbled, too low for anyone but the two of them to hear.

"You're a marine, and you are my enemy, but for the duration of this war, you will be our ally. She has changed you, our Dragon." Teddy's eyes were those that seemed to pierce through to your very soul as he calmly stared Lukas down. "You're in deep, marine. You don't even realize how far you have fallen...but if you break her, if you betray her," the man's voice trailed off, and his gaze hardened. "Well, I'm sure I don't have to go into details...She may have scales as hard as steel, but beneath them, she is soft and kind. Remember that, marine."

Then without another word or even a nod, Teddy turned away from Lukas and began to stride across the deck to where several packs and crates contained their gear and equipment. "Prepare yourself for battle, marine, for we go to war against the Lawash Smuggling Ring and the Don de Maccello forces in four and a half days."

It would take them two nights to get to Sabaody, where they were to get intel on the Don and the Lawash Smuggling Ring and rally with the other Black Bull members. They were heading to the higher numbered groves, where, as Lukas had been updated, that the smuggler Niki "The Changling" was supposedly being held hostage. Apparently, the Lawash Smugglers were using the Don De Macello's monetary backing to try and not only bring down the Black Bull Ring, but also collect the four females in the Inner Circle for the Don's collection of fine things. He remembered one of the first times that he encountered Rouge and she had been being chased by those men, gift wrapped for him in sea stone shackles. That time, she had been so close to be being where her friend Niki was now.

Ya. Over his dead body.

After the first stand off with the three men on the skiff, particularly the big behemoth aptly named "Teddy", it didn't take long for the other men to warm up a little to Lukas, albeit in the hesitant way that a cat warms up to a dog. He was their enemy; from their perspective, they avoided marines like the plague. But he was Lukas and he was a people person. Everyone loved him. That was part of the reason he was so good at what he did; he could mold and shape to fit into any crowd, meld with any personality and people gravitated towards that. It was dangerous as much as attractive.

Having spent much of the last month or so weapon free, once they had set sail into the open ocean and there was little chance that she was gonna toss his ass overboard or drag him around by his ears some more, he started to sniff around her skiff. He knew enough about the Straw Hats to know that her little ship had been constructed by the master shipwright Franky and that it had to have all the bells and whistles. He wanted guns, ammo, artillery, the bang and the kaboom. He could practically _smell_ the gunpowder and lead.

Down below the deck, her quarters were small and modest, much like her space in the cave on the island had been. Only, bonus, there was a bed with an actual mattress and before he started ripping the walls apart for weapons, he took a moment to flop onto the bed and heave a great sigh at the softness of it. Amazing. It was the little things in life that you missed the most when you had to live out your sentence in exile on an island without running water.

The room seemed smaller than it should have been and it was only after leaving and coming a couple of times that he really grasped the dimensions of it. So, he did what any person would do; he started tapping the walls. And when he hit that hollow point, he managed to open a secret compartment – one of many, he found – and what met his eyes was a fucking treasure trove.

Guns. Every make, model, size, color and shape he could imagine. They were placed all over the room in strategic locations. He spent literally hours down there, all day and all afternoon and well into the evening sorting through what she had. He settled with two long barrel, short range pistols similar to the military issues he customized with silencers attached to the barrel and a drool-worthy sniper rifle. Why on earth she would need a sniper rifle was beyond him, but then again, he came across a bazooka in his investigation of her materials and why she would need one of those was also a mystery. He assumed that given his station, she wouldn't mind if he borrowed the rifle.

The first night rolled around and sleeping arrangements were to be had. The man that was heavily bandaged – Kugo was his name – thrust a blanket and pillow right at Lukas.

"Find the softest bit of deck, marine," he said, his voice slightly tight and clipped. Unlike the other two men Leon and Teddy, this one had been out of the loop with Lukas' hostage situation as far as he could tell and was taking the longest to get accustomed to the idea.

Lukas shoved the blankets back, "No way, bro. I'm sleeping in the cabin."

Blankets were back in his arms, "That's Rouge's room. No one sleeps there." A bit more growl in the voice this time.

Exchange the blankets again, "I haven't slept on a mattress in weeks. I'm getting my soft on."

Suddenly, Teddy was between them, a mammoth hand on each of their shoulders, "Let it go, Kugo," his deep voice rumbled gently, if there was such a thing as a gentle rumble.

Lukas slept with a warm body and soft bed that night and no one said shit to him the next day about it.

It was Leon that Lukas found in those two days that he had the most in common with. Leon, he found out was one of Rouge's accomplices when she kidnapped him, wily bitch, had been an assassin before he'd been a smuggler and was adept at all different kinds of weapons and stealth movement. It was the second day on the ocean, a day before they were supposed to arrive at Sabaody that Leon opened his crate of supplies and showed Lukas all his tricks that he had.

"Some of the best gear in the world right here," Leon said, pulling out some black fatigues, a tight black shirt that wicked moisture from the skin, boots, a skull cap and a mask, "Most of us are wearing this, minus the mask of course. These should fit you," he dug around some more, naming a few things he had, "We've got communication sets in here, sea stone shackles, oh! And these cool gloves, you've seen these before," he pulled out some black gloves and Lukas recognized them instantly. He used them all the time on recon missions. They were memory gloves, thick enough to keep skin cells and finger prints off objects, but thin enough to feel every nuance of what you were touching.

"Nice!" Lukas grinned, pulling the glove on and flexing his hand, "Man, you guys spare no expense."

Leon shrugged, "We're smugglers, dude. There's nothing we can't have."

That night, hours away from Sabaody and everyone hunkered down for the night except Rouge, who was oddly missing from her cabin, Lukas tried on his ensemble. Black fatigues with military grade shit-kickers on his feet. A tight black shirt fit over his torso like a second skin, the gloves pulled right up to meet with the sleeve so that not a single hint of flesh was showing. He tucked his blonde hair into the skull cap and pulled the mask over his neck and mouth and nose so that the only strip of skin that was showing was the space above his eyebrows to the tops of his cheek bones. As he studied himself in the mirror, he was reminded of his training in recon. He'd wear something very similar, minus the mask and decorated with enough weapons to stock a small military unit. He looked like a ninja and he smirked behind his mask. It was then that the whole weight of what he was doing crashed down on him and his smile faded slightly.

He was on a skiff with some of the most notorious criminals in the world, heading on a mission to save another criminal from the hands of more criminals. And he was a marine. No, he was a vice admiral who had been kidnapped by a criminal, seduced by a criminal and now was actively volunteering to help said criminal.

Did that make him an outlaw too, by association? Aiding and abetting?

He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was doing this because of Rouge, hands down. He couldn't deny that it had pricked his panic button that she was leaving him on the island and it had aggravated it more that she was going into such a huge fight. It wasn't that he didn't think she was capable; he knew she was. He… he disliked the waiting part, the not knowing what was happening to her, the uncertainty of her well-being. He had agreed to coming along to piss her off a little, but he stayed because… because he had to. His whole being rejected the idea of her going at this alone when he _knew_ that he could help her. And he wanted to help her, he really did and that was so… it was confusing, to say the least.

That Teddy guy said that Lukas didn't realize how deep he was in… he was starting to think too deep to be salvageable at this point.

Speaking of Rouge. Everyone else had decided to bed down a little on the earlier side to rest up and yet, her room was strangely empty. Keeping his ninja getup on, he left the cabin on silent feet and found her instantly, standing right at the prow of the ship, staring out into the ocean. Waves of hard determination rolled off her. He knew that feeling. She was out for blood.

Lukas moved like a shadow until he was right behind her and pinched her waist to startle her out of her reverie, "So," he greeted quietly, holding out his hands to indicate his outfit, "What do you think? Do I look like a smooth criminal or what?"

 _I'_ _m coming for you Niki...I_ _'_ _m going to make that dirty Don wish he_ _'_ _d never laid hands on you, just you wait. He_ _'_ _ll be begging for_ hell _by the time I_ _'_ _m done with him..._ Rouge thought as she gazed across the dark ocean.

Rouge was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't sense or hear Lukas until he pinched her waist. Jumping, she whirled around with her fist ready to clock someone in the face when she realized who it was. With a sigh, she relaxed and cast him a quick scowl before her eyes were drawn down to the outfit he was wearing.

He was practically covered from head to toe in expensive black covert material, a line of product she knew that Leon was particularly fond of. Despite her less than jovial mood, the clear wolfish delight in his eyes as he showcased himself tugged a grin up to her lips, and Rouge reached out a hand to poke him in the chest.

"Watch yourself with that gear, Lukas," she teased, her eyes dancing as she looked up at him. "The cloth is black but it's been dipped in red dye so that the cloth doesn't reveal if your bleeding or not...With your overinflated ego you'd just think you're invincible when you could be hurt, and then I'd have to nurse you back to health all over again."

She didn't understand how just his presence alone could help to alleviate all of the stress and worry that had been running around her mind ever since she'd learned about the upcoming war and Niki's disappearance. He even managed to get her anger to simmer down when her temper was legendary.

"I assume you'll be borrowing from my boat's arsenal of weapons...? Be careful with them, Franky designed all of those guns. If you break one, he'll be very upset," her voice didn't lose that teasing tone as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against where the masthead met the railing.

He ran his hands over his chest, feeling the smooth tightness of the shirt over his skin, "Covers injuries, huh? Sweet. I'll make sure I get nice and beat up so you can nurse me back to health. You did such a lovely job last time," he stepped in close to her and lifted her easily by her hips to prop her up on the railing in front of him and slid into the space created by her knees until his body was crowding close to hers. He could feel the heat of her even through the ninja garb he had on, "And I'm confident that I can handle a sniper rifle. I am an aficionado with artillery."

Lukas reached up and pulled the tie out of her hair, letting the curls tumble down over her shoulders and back. While he knew she kept it up out of necessity, he enjoyed running his fingers through the thick silk strands and pulling at the curls and letting them bounce back.

"I know that Niki is your best friend, but you're worrying too much about her. There's no question that heads will roll and we'll get her back for you. But if you're thinking too much about her well-being," he tapped her forehead, "You're not thinking about your own and she needs you alive to save her, feel me?"

He pulled half of her hair over her shoulder and with the skilled fingers that only an older brother with three little sisters had, he slowly and methodically started a braid down one side. Years of helping his mother get the girls ready for school in the morning led to a lot of strange practices for a dude to know, "So," he continued with a little grin, "Are _you_ gonna wear any of this badass assassin gear too? Or you just gonna go like this?" he nodded his head towards her outfit which was currently her normal shortie shorts, vest and bikini top, "You might take out a few guys with your body alone…"

He lifted her up and began playing with her hair, standing between her thighs. She could feel the warmth of his hard body seeping into the inside of her thighs, the lingering warmth from where his hands grasped her hips. The sensation of his fingers running through her hair, displaying a surprising dexterity with hair braiding, sent small shivers running down her spine. Her body, despite her worrying thoughts, relaxed with his proximity as if on instinct.

When had they come to this? When had her seduction of him for her own gain extended to letting him sleep in her bed? When had she begun to enjoy his presence for an entirely different reason than wanting to fuck him?

She'd always kept things strictly physical with the men she chose to have relationships with, because she'd never wanted to feel tied down. She enjoyed her freedom, her ability to do whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted. But Lukas had snuck up on her. She'd blinked, and they'd gone from barely touching to spending the majority of the day together. She'd never wanted to simply...touch a man. Just laying down in bed with Lukas was enjoyable, even if they hadn't fucked. And waking up with his arms around her? So...comfortable.

She felt so damn safe with him. Relaxed. Even though he should be her enemy, she gravitated towards him. Part of her was terrified of this reaction, terrified on an instinctual level that he was a threat to her freedom, but then she reminded herself that there could be no future for them. This was temporary.

That knowledge, however, only made her feel cold inside. She ignored it, turning off her thoughts. She'd done too much thinking this night. She couldn't resist the allure of her banter with Lukas, couldn't resist the good mood he always put her in.

"I have better mobility in these clothes, and besides...My outfit is a distraction, which is a total asset when I'm getting down and dirty in a fight," she grinned, the freckles on her nose wrinkling and adding to her impish expression. "Besides, I wear these clothes for a reason. It's for my ultimate attack. Pray you'll never have to see it, because most of the people who have are dead."

Her grin widened, and she reached her fingers up to peel the mask down from his face. "And if you _do_ shoot any of my nakama, even by accident...I will hurt you," her eyes were dancing with amusement as she leaned forward and up, and nibbled on his lower lip. "And not in the way you like it, either." she added with a knowing glint in her eye, referring to his previous S and M banter. Her nibbling turned into a full kiss, and her eyes slid shut as she pressed herself against him, enjoying the way his hard chest felt against her breasts.

He smirked against her mouth as she kissed him and stifled his laughter at her comment. One hand planted on the railing next to her hip while the other that had been previously stroking her curls threaded through them and around to the nape of her neck. The action pulled her impossibly closer and for a brief moment, it occurred to him again how _effortless_ this was, whatever this was between them. He had been resisting her so hard for so long that once he'd let loose and thrown caution to the wind, it had switched quick on him to now it made him uncomfortable to be away from her.

And yet the fact still remained that she was an outlaw and he was a marine and eventually, they were both going to have to go back to reality. It freaked him out how much he didn't really want that.

He didn't want to think about it.

"Speaking of S and M…" he murmured, pulling away from her inviting mouth, "Let's play ninja versus dragon and see who comes out on top…" he scooped her up behind the knees like she weighed nothing at all and beat feet towards the little below-deck cabin she called home.

Neither Lukas nor Rouge was aware of the audience they had gathered. Kugo and Leon, both bunked above the cabin on the top deck so that they had a decent view of the whole ship, were both wide awake and observing the spectacle at the prow of the ship. Leon had a huge, goofy grin on his face and Kugo looked a little miffed.

"What the hell does she see in him anyway?" Kugo growled as Lukas lifted Rouge up onto the railing and stepped between her knees, "He's a fucking marine! Our biggest enemy!"

"Maybe that's what she likes. You know Rouge… she breathes dangerous." Leon replied.

"He's a tool."

"I find him fascinating," Leon continued, not at all bothered by the disgruntled demeanor of his partner, "Youngest Vice Admiral in history means he's dangerous and powerful. She kidnapped him and instead of trying to kill each other…" he shrugged, "I think we are witnessing something incredibly interesting about to happen."

"You call _that_ interesting?" Kugo hissed as she leaned in and pulled off the marine's mask and laid one on him.

"You're just jealous because the last time your drunk ass tried to kiss her, she kissed you back with her fist."

That shut up Kugo for a moment.

Leon propped his chin in his hands, "How long do you suppose it took? For her to break him down and win him over like that?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Stop being such a pussy for a second and think about it. He's a _vice admiral_. He's legendary for his unwavering sense of justice and text book logical consequences. And here he is, macking on our Dragon, who is a world-class _outlaw_ and volunteering to help a bunch of riffraff like us beat up some more riffraff. Where do you suppose the thinking comes from? How is he justifying it?" Leon cocked his head to the side as the marine lifted Rouge up behind her knees and she laughed, immediately ringing her arms around his neck to keep them pressed together. After a moment, the two of them disappeared into the cabin.

Kugo huffed, "I don't know, I don't care. After we save Niki and kick that Don's ass and all the Lawash fucks, he's my enemy and I'll kill him too. One less vice admiral in the world, the better," with that, Kugo violently tugged one of his blankets and rolled over with a jerk, turning his back to Leon.

The ex-assassin shook his head and pursed his lips at Kugo, "I'm not so sure, friend," he muttered, "I'm not convinced he's truthfully our enemy…"

Upon arriving at Saobody, it became quickly apparent that they were some of the first of the Bull's to arrive thanks to the fact that Rouge had pushed her cola engine to the max for much of their voyage, and her skiff was built for speed as it was.

They quickly found the appointed grove and settle in to one of the inns that was situated in the small town near the large De Maccello estate, where the groves were predominantly filled with hotels and resorts, high in the 70s. When they checked in to their inn, Leon and Kugo got a room together, Teddy got his own room, and when Rouge was asked if she would be alone or in a double, the words 'double' had slipped free before she could stop it. She'd been preoccupied with thoughts of Niki and subconsciously aware of the subtle heat radiated off the cloaked man standing slightly behind her, and because she hadn't slept alone in a few days now, she reacted without thinking.

When the innkeeper had handed her two keys, both to the same room, she'd stared at them for a moment before she realized what she'd done. Her eyes flickered up to Lukas, then quickly away as she turned her back to him and started heading for the stairs as nonchalantly as possible. In truth, she'd decided to start distancing herself from the marine. She'd accepted that he had to go free after this mission, and that there was no future for them. She couldn't let herself get too attached to him because she hated goodbyes. So far she'd managed to keep from actually having sex with him from a strange association of sex equating a more permanent and intimate thing than she actually did. She couldn't explain it, since the majority of her bedlovers were one night stands, but Lukas just seemed...different. Like sex carried more weight with him, more significance. Perhaps because in the beginning, she'd been so focused on seducing him and having to go slow because of his resistance than playing around had become standard between them, and not necessarily sex.

Since their voyage to Sabaody, Rouge had realized how attached she'd already become to this man, especially from the stares she'd caught from Leon and Kugo, and had decided that she could _not_ have sex with Lukas.

Being in the same bedroom as Lukas once again made her feel both hot and cold, but the idea of turning around and admitting she meant to say a single seemed far more embarrassing than just dealing with it, so she lugged her stuff up to the appointed room, deposited it on the bed, and headed for the bathroom to wash her face, closing the door behind her and effectively shutting the world out.

As she stared at herself in the mirror, Rouge couldn't help thinking that Niki was somewhere on this island, somewhere close, even visible, but that Rouge could do absolutely nothing about it until the boss arrived. Part of her wanted to throw caution to the wind and sneak in as soon as it was dark enough and attempt a solo rescue, but she knew better. She knew she'd more likely be endangering Niki more if she didn't wait for reinforcements.

But to just sit and wait while she knew her friend was so close and likely in pain or anguish? Terrible. Her whole body was practically vibrating from how tense her muscles were, and her normally dancing blue eyes were eerily pale and still in her freckled face, like cold crystal sapphires.

With a huff of angry frustration, Rouge restrained herself from breaking anything and focused on busily washing her face and braiding her long hair down her back. The repetitive action of braiding helped to take her mind from Niki somewhat, and by the time she was done she felt ready to face the world, and Lukas, again.

She decided that just because they were sharing a room again didn't mean that what they had going on had to get any more involved...in fact, considering the mission was only a few days away now, it made sense for her to start pulling herself away from Lukas. She had to remind herself that this had been from the plan from the start.

Only, back then it hadn't seemed so difficult...

Rouge stepped out of the bathroom, planted her hands on her hips, and said, "Well we're here early, so we have a couple of days to prepare. Don't let anyone see who you really are, especially so close to the marine base as we are, or things could get really dicey."

Rouge spoke as if she meant to depart, and she felt like she should. That the best way to distance herself from Lukas was to spend less time with him, and she had plenty of things on this island to keep herself occupied with. She already planned on getting drunk tonight in the local tavern, hoping it would help the time move faster, while keeping her mind off of Niki, and also Lukas, if she were greatly inebriated.

"Just wear that mask everywhere and tell people you're a leper or something," she added, a half-assed grin making a brief appearance on her face.

Arriving at the mangroves meant that he had to keep on the DL. He was given a cloak to throw over his shoulders and head, along with the mask to keep his features obscure. He followed behind Rouge like a silent bodyguard shadow, flanked by Leon and Kugo and Teddy the giant was bringing up the rear. For all the world knew, she was someone real important and they were her secret service.

It was bizarre at first; they were in the higher numbered groves and therefore, very close to the marine base. Seeing all the uniforms was off-putting; no one stopped to salute him, no one called out a greeting to him. He was invisible among a group of his peers, hiding in plain sight. What the hell was he doing? He briefly considered what would happen if he just tossed off his disguise with a big 'I'm HERE!' but obviously refrained. He came to help Rouge and the thought of simply throwing it all away and walking away with the marines seemed oddly uncomfortable. He wasn't ready to break up with her yet.

Though, apparently, she was, but he was getting some serious mixed signals from her. Fucking women. First she books them a double room together without missing a beat then avoids his gaze like he's grown an extra head. It was confusing and he could sympathize because he was confused as hell over here. He knew, _knew in his brain_ that whatever spark they had was going to be snuffed out in a matter of days when they came to their inevitable end. And in his head, he was okay with it because part of him knew from the start that messing around with a criminal as alluring and tempting as she was would bring him to this conclusion of having to walk away. What he wasn't counting on was the destruction he was leaving on his heart and soul. He hurt at the idea of finally walking away from her scot-free and he felt terribly guilty for making these choices with her, like he'd cheated on his other lover, aka, his career in the military. And the confliction he felt over having to choose one was proving to be a painful process. It was the right thing to choose his career and that was what his brain was saying. But his body rejected the idea of parting with her.

There was no agreeing or compromising to be had.

He followed her upstairs to the room and she immediately disappeared into the bathroom. She was distracted, that was definitely for sure and even if he couldn't sense her emotional state like an open book, her body language was enough. She was tense and preoccupied and not at all like her sassy, witty self. He gave her the space in the bathroom as he opened his pack and fished around for something different to wear. Right now, he was in his assassin gear because it had seemed appropriate, but now he was looking for something a little more subtle if he was going out alone.

He kept the fatigues and the boots, but opted for a plain forest-y green tee-shirt before he whipped the cloak back over his shoulders just as Rouge popped out of the bathroom and gave him a stern reminder to stay on the DL.

It was on the tip of his tongue to give her a retort back along the lines of him not being so stupid when a thought occurred to him. He was about to head out of this tavern and into the lower numbered groves. Did he really expect that she wasn't going to be curious about where he was going? No way was he getting out of here without either an interrogation from her to sate her curiosity or her tagging along.

He needed to see his family. She needed a distraction, clearly.

"Of course," he replied, his voice pitched to a I'm-being-way-too-reasonable tone, "No one is even gonna look twice at me," he closed his pack and flipped the cowl hood over his head and for added measure, pulled the mask over his mouth and nose, "I have something I need to do. I'll see you later," he walked up to her, gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek through his mask and walked out of the hotel room. He was intentional about being incredibly vague, baiting her interest.

The walk to the lower numbered groves took him a long time, and as he walked, his mind wandered

Sabaody was… well… it was Sabaody. It was the rich and the poor, it was the marines and the criminals, it was the privileged and the underprivileged, the lost and the mistaken. It was good, it was bad, it was ugly.

It was home.

He hadn't been here in months, but even as he stepped foot into the wealthiest groves that had not been his stomping grounds as a child, the soft ground, the gentle sound of bubbles popping, the snubbing of the Tenryubito, it was all his lullaby. The only thing that was missing was the yelling and the swearing and the occasional gunshot.

He was seven when he moved to Sabaody, or rather, was relocated there after Marineford was blown up. He remembered watching on the big screens as the town he was born in was reduced to rubble. He'd been standing in the back, holding his pregnant mother's hand in one and Rylee's in the other and 3-year-old Ashy on his shoulders. Then… the war was over and the waiting came. The waiting and the waiting as they waited for the _list_ to come. The list of the dead and the missing.

The firepower of men dressed in black that came to the shitty little bungalow they were holed up in with the news of his father had induced early labor for his mother to give birth to Gabriella.

Those first few months with the new baby had been the hardest. Not only was there a new mouth to feed, but they had nothing but the few possessions they managed to bring from Marineford and the clothes on their backs. Angela couldn't work post-labor and the stipend they were due for the death of the head of household never came. The little food they had ran dry until all that was left was dusty cupboards, broth and water. The walk to school was wrought with criminals and slave traders. Ashlynne was too young for school but it was Rylee's first year of kindergarten. Older kids, tough kids who had been around the lower numbered groves a few times preyed on the weak and the new. Lukas learned a mean right hook after the first day he got the shit beaten out of him and Rylee's meager lunch was stolen and she was tied to a flagpole.

After nearly a week of living on broth, water, sweat, blood and tears, Lukas remembered stealing his first loaf of bread. It had been impulsive, really. It was just there, cooling on the baker's rack early one morning on their way to school, still steaming in the crisp air. He was so hungry and the girls were starting to look gaunt and his mother was preoccupied with grief and the little one. His hands reached out without his bidding and wrapped his dirty hands around the still warm bread. He tucked it under his arm, looked both ways and grabbed Rylee's hand and they ran until there was no breath left in their lungs. They ate just a little bit, promising to save the rest for Ashy and baby Gabby and mother. It had been nice to go to bed without the lullaby of crying and growling tummies.

It started to get better after that. He gathered a reputation and while the bullies may have sneered, they didn't come close enough to get within range of his fists. That little baby saved his mother's soul and when she was well enough and the baby was old enough, she started to look for odd jobs, leaving Lukas in charge in their little one bedroom hut. The little money they had was enough for clothes for Gabby until she could wear Ashy's old things and some food. Every day, he'd come home with something. It started out as food and he didn't tell his mother. He simply used it to feed Rylee and him lunch and breakfast to try and stretch what honest food his mother bought just a little farther. Then, he started to bring it home. Bless his mother's soul, she never questioned it. Thinking back, maybe it was because she knew how badly they needed his sticky-fingers. Soon, food became trinkets and trinkets turned into money from selling it illegally. Just little things, just enough so they could get by.

When he was recruited to the military by circumstance at ten years old, life dramatically changed, at least, in comparison to what it was. They were able to get a bigger house with three small rooms so that Lukas – a nearing puberty adolescent boy – could have his own room. His stipend always made sure there was enough food on the table and hot water to bathe in. It wasn't anything at all like the lavish life they had at Marineford, but it was better than starving to death and of course, as he elevated in status, his pay increased.

Rylee and Ashlynne were both married now and moved away from this hellhole they dubbed childhood. Rylee's husband was a merchant and Ashy married an artisan baker. They both lived comfortable lives, married good, honest men. Gabby… well, she was born and bred Sabaody Shit-Hole, so there was no way she was ever going to leave. Her life had never been pampered and besides, who else was going to stay home and take care of their widowed, aging, kind-souled mother?

His disappearance would have been all over the papers; he was certain he had wanted posters hanging with a picture of his ugly mug on it so people could find him. His little family must be beside themselves. His poor okaa-san had lost her soul mate twenty years ago… it must be killing her to not know where her oldest and only son was.

By the time he was approaching his destination, almost an hour had passed. Sabaody was larger than most people thought and because he couldn't get one of the bubble bikes, the trek was extra long. His family, even after his induction to the marines, still lived in the lawless numbered groves. It was all they could afford and frankly now despite the fact that they could get something nice in the tourist district, it was where they were most comfortable. Gabbi handled herself beautifully against the punks and riffraff and made sure Okaa-san was safe. They lived in Grove 18, but he was headed to lucky number Grove 7.

Dusk was settling in by the time he saw the bright red neon cursive above a small tavern at the corner of a street. _Gabbi_ _'_ _s._ Not the most creative name, but it was what she wanted. Someone pushed out of the glass door, a briefcase in one hand and a jacket hooked by a single finger over his shoulder. He was dressed too dapper for a pirate, but perhaps a gangster or a drug lord. Smuggler even, just having a drink on their way home. Or most likely coming in to oogle the 20-year-old matron.

All the Knowles children were fair-haired and light eyed, colorings ranging from the sunshine blonde of Rylee to the sandy blonde that Lukas inherited from his father. So the young woman through the glass that was wiping down the polished wood bar top with a rag was of that geno. Her long honey blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that hung down between her shoulders with bangs that didn't quite pull back framing her high cheek bones. A streak of bold dyed red started at her temple and pulled back with the rest of her locks. That was new. Red was her favorite color.

And though her thick eyelashes and smudge of kohl shadowed them, he knew that she shared not his and his father's green coloring, but their mother's champagne colored eyes, capable of melting hearts to snapping angry golden fires.

Lukas inhaled through his nose, feeling tendrils of excited nerves at seeing his family. He hadn't seen them for a few months now. It was hard to come back when his work took him around the globe.

He pushed open the door and the little bell above tinkled to announce his arrival. Gabbi snapped her head up and paused her wiping.

"Sir," she said, "We're closing early tonight," her voice was youthful and pitched, with a stern edge around it that had the capability to cut down a full grown man with a few sharp words.

Lukas pulled off his hood and mask, "No time for your best customer?" he smirked.

She gasped and her hand came up to her cheek as she stared at him for a whole minute. "Lukas…" she whispered before a slow, gleeful smile lit up her face, "Ah! Lukas!" she screeched this time. She flung herself over the bar, her high heeled sandals making a fast, staccato beat against the wood floors before she literally jumped into his arms, her arms around his neck and her legs up around his waist, hugging him. He took a step back to compensate his balance at her momentum.

"Nice to know I was missed," he remarked, wrapping his arms around her. She kissed his whole face and he crinkled his nose at her.

She slid down and took a step back to look at him. Today, she was wearing a cropped red Crimin tee shirt and a pair of denim crops. Suddenly, she grabbed his face hard in one of her little hands, "You asshole," she said, "Where the hell have you been? The damned papers said you disappeared suddenly! You know you nearly killed our poor mother! I swear to god, she's gotten grayer everyday!"

"Is she here?" he asked, his voice slurred from her hand squeezing his jaw.

"Of course she is!" she turned, "Okaa-san! We have a visitor!"

"I know," Knowles Angela stepped out from the behind the curtain that separated the back kitchen from the bar, "I sensed him before I heard him," Angela was a soft-spoken woman, kind and compassionate and frail. Lukas supposed that she must have been more robust and spunky when she was younger and before she lost their father, but some of her snuffed out with him that day and since then, she'd always been a little more sensitive and a little more delicate.

"Okaa-san…" he greeted, shaking Gabbi's grip loose and walking over to his mother. He was less aggressive embracing her as he had been with his sister and when he pulled back, she grabbed his face with both her hands on his cheeks.

"Every time I see you, you look more and more like your father," she said with a smile, "We were so worried about you."

"I know. I'm sorry," he replied. There was a moment of quiet and he knew that she was reading him. Angela had powerful color of observation Haki and much different than his. His started as a simple and easy sensitivity to emotions and having random premonitions that only through hours and years of training he was able to develop the power. She was simply born with it, able to read the emotions of others so clearly she could practically hear their thoughts. She could never turn it off and it made large crowds and extreme events very taxing for her.

"Stop it," he told her gently as he felt her own emotional state shift at feeling his confusion, his worry and his stress about Rouge which was all on the forefront of his mind, "I'm fine, I promise."

She shook her head, "I feel something dangerous swirling around you."

"My job is dangerous. Occupational hazard."

"This is different," she insisted. He could feel her panic spike.

"Seriously. Stop, okaa-san. I'm fine. Nothing is gonna happen to me."

"Onii-chan!" Gabbi called over from behind the bar as she popped the top off a long neck, "Get over here and drink and tell me where you've been for the past month!"

Angela removed her hands from his face, mentioning some about getting her tea from out back and he wandered over the bar. Gabbi was sprawled across the top of it, lying on her stomach with her heeled feet pumping back and forth, "The papers speculated that you were kidnapped," she said as he plopped onto a barstool and wrapped his hand around the beer bottle, "Truth? Someone kidnapped the great Vice Admiral?"

He grinned and took a swig, "Yep. Drugged me and caught me unawares in my bed," he answered. A tingle shot up the back of his neck and he flipped his eyes to the door briefly before drawing them back to his sister.


	7. Chapter 7

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Rouge was listening from outside the front door, and his last words made her eyes narrow in suspicion. He was openly admitting to being had, and he didn't sound the least bit upset. In fact, he sounded... _proud_.

As if he was impressed with her, and liked it, even when discussing the moment when he was probably the most vulnerable. For some incomprehensible reason, it sent a burst of warmth through Rouge's chest, and she rubbed the valley between her breasts almost in annoyance.

Dammit, she knew she shouldn't have come. But he'd been so ambiguous about where he was going and a small part of her had been curious to see if he would go to the marines.

He hadn't. He'd trekked for almost an hour across the whole damned island to this little ruddy bar, and she'd followed him the whole damned way. At first she'd walked, then when she'd gotten bored, she'd taken to the treetops and glided her way after him.

The name of the bar had been the first hint towards the purpose of his outing. She'd remembered the name, Gabbi, from her talks with Lukas. Within moments of her arrival, her suspicions had been confirmed, and even his _mother_ was here.

Here, in the slums of Sabaody, just like he'd said. She'd been disinclined to believe that a Vice Admiral's mother lived in a place like this, but he hadn't been lying. But as she listened to them, listened to their banter with Lukas, she instantly liked them.

Rouge let out a silent sigh and let her head fall back, staring up at the newly twinkling stars that were just now making a dim appearance. Knowing that Lukas had such a warm and loving family somehow made her ache more. She loved having friends with great families.

Suddenly, Rouge was sick and tired of all of her droopy, depressing thoughts lately. It was so unlike her that she hardly recognized herself. Since when did she creep on doorsteps? Moon over silly marines, for any reason?

Lame.

Eyes narrowing in determination, Rouge spun to face the door, flicked her hair over her shoulders with a saucy swish to her hips, then shoved open it open so hard it bounced against the wall. Striding into the doorway, Rouge planted her hands on her hips, cocked her head to the side, and pinned Lukas with a narrowed stare.

"Talking about me behind my back are we?" Rouge asked casually. A grin curled its way up her lips, and Rouge reached back with her foot to close the door, then started strutting towards them. "Not very nice of you, especially when you didn't invite me to this little party," she added, lowering her voice an octave to a more sulky tone, but wicked grin and dancing eyes remained in place.

When the door to the tavern flew open with a bang, Lukas didn't even jump, though Gabbi did, letting out a little scream and rolling off the bar top. Angela poked her head out from behind the curtain at the commotion.

Lukas took a casual sip of his beer, "Talking behind your back would indicate that I didn't know you were here," he replied. He swiveled in his stool and cocked a brow at her, a ghost of a smirk on his face, "And since when do you need an invitation to go anywhere?"

Gabbi appeared again after her fall off the bar and pinged her eyes back and forth between them before glancing below the counter top. Being a barkeep in such a seedy district, she had wanted posters of all the big shots pinned up behind the bar so that she was prepared for when the riffraff came in for drinks. Apparently, she had Rouge's poster because she paused, glanced at the woman, then back down, then back up at her then bounced her eyes over to Lukas and back to Rouge.

"Well," she finally settled on, draping her hands over her hips, "This is interesting," she seemed to contemplate them for a minute and Lukas narrowed his eyes in warning at her when he felt her emotions swirling. Curiosity, suspicion, wicked glee. Gabbi was a meddler, always had been and she had the look about her.

She caught his gaze and gave him a little smirk and a shrug, "I'll get you a beer, Dragon," she said, turning to the fridge behind her and popping the top off a cold one.

"Rouge, this is my sister Gabriella. Gabbi, this is Rouge," he grinned through the quick introductions, "My kidnapper."

"I figured as much," she replied, slamming the beer on the bar top for Rouge.

"And this is my mother, Angela," he continued as his mother returned once more, this time with her tea, "whom you need to apologize to for making her worry about me for the past month."

Knowles Angela was a very keen woman. Her powerful Observation Haki made it such that she was capable of picking up the slightest emotional waves in others with pinprick accuracy as if she was reading their thoughts. It had been this way her entire life. With age, the sensitivity grew stronger, as well as her ability to cope with the overload of feelings all the time. Though, she still avoided places that ran high with emotion, such as events and parties.

And while she loved all her children, she had a particular closeness to her only boy. He reminded her most of his father, her late, beloved husband, not only in his coloring and build, but how he acted, his personality, how he loved his family and friends. But not only that, he was the only one of her children that inherited her affinity with the Observation Haki and that meant they shared an even closer bond. She could read him like a book, and he could the same for her.

What she was reading from him now brought her both a spark of happiness as well as a bolt of panic. When he'd walked through that tavern door, she had been relieved that he'd returned from whatever grueling ordeal he'd endured during the past month. Well, what she had assumed must have been grueling, but she couldn't have been more far from the truth. He hadn't exuded the same vibrations that typical trauma victims did and it wasn't because he was a vice admiral and fearless. He hadn't… he hadn't _had_ any trauma. What she had gotten from him was happiness to see his family, then confusion, worry and doubt. And something else that troubled her.

And that something else became apparent when _she_ walked through the door.

The young woman with the dark curls and flashing blue eyes was Rouge the Dragon Smuggler, a notorious criminal with a high bounty. She was known for her cleverness, her cunning, her fruit ability and her devil-may-care attitude. What Angela read from her within seconds was hard determination, loyalty, and a big heart.

Lukas was in love with this woman.

He didn't know it.

How odd. A marine in love with the criminal who kidnapped him. Odder still… she felt the same way.

There was something very dangerous about this blossoming romance; she could feel something simmering just below the surface. Premonitions weren't her forte, but it wasn't uncommon for her. But this was more of a gut feeling rather than anything substantial.

Angela sipped her tea as Gabriella impatiently waved her hand at the pair of them, "Wait! I was about to hear a good story! Vice Admiral, kidnapped out of his bed by a _smuggler_? No shit! Girl, how did you do it?"

She caught Lukas's sharp gaze as he sensed her emotional distress. She quickly censored her thoughts and seconded Gabriella's request, "Yes, I agree, the story must be _intriguing._ "

Rouge's grin only widened, and she knew in that moment that she and Gabbi would get along famously, especially considering she obviously didn't have a problem with outlaws, being the matron of a bar that catered to all forms of riffraff. Not only that, but the wicked gleam of amusement in her eyes was a mirror image to Rouge's own wicked streak, and while Rouge lacked the precise knowledge of Observation Haki, she had great instinct with people and could tell that Gabbi was a good person.

"Well, it's very nice to meet both of you. You are both the spitting image of Lukas...except prettier, of course," Rouge added, winking at his sister.

Gabbi let out a laugh with a shake of her head. "Got yourself a charmer here, eh brother?" she grinned at her brother, then turned her eyes back to Rouge as the woman strolled up to the bar. Plopping her hat down next to her, Rouge plopped herself down on a stool, picked up the beer, and took a deep swig.

Slamming the glass back down on the bar top, Rouge grinned back and held up the beer in a salute of thanks. "Good beer. I do my best to show my appreciation, especially when it's well deserved. Takes guts running a place like this when you're the size of a twig."

Gabbi gasped as if offended, but the corners of her lips trembled with the smile she held back. "I may be the size of a twig, but I can handle myself."

Rouge laughed, glancing from Gabbi to her mother and then to Lukas before returning her eyes pointedly back towards Gabbi. "I haven't the slightest doubt at all to that claim."

Gabbi's grin turned mischevious again, and she leaned across the bar top towards Rouge with eyes that shone with curiosity. "Okay, spill. How the hell did you kidnap my brother?"

Rouge's grin turned sly, and she turned in her stool to face Lukas and casually leaned against the bar, but her voice was directed at Gabbi when she spoke. "It was pretty easy, actually. First I drove him mad with my sexy, beguiling ways and encouraged his justice-ridden heart to chase me around for a bit, then when I'd exhausted him, I pounced."

Reaching out a hand, she mussed his hair with a chuckle and turned back towards the bar. "It helps when you have chloroform to knock a big lug like this out though...Definitely made the job a lot easier. Then I kept him on a deserted island for a few weeks until he saw things my way."

Knowing that neither of them had yet to explain _why_ he'd been kidnapped in the first place, Rouge didn't give them time to ask questions as she finished her little story. Instead, she leaned across the bar, propped her chin up with one hand, and pinned his mother with a mockingly serious stare. "I don't know how you did it, ma'am. He got himself into so much trouble, it's a wonder he survived."

Gabbi's head fell back in a peal of laughter so hard she was gripping her sides from it. "Oh man! I like you! You don't let my brother push you around at all, do you? Good for you, girl."

"I don't let _anyone_ push me around, least of all a stuffy marine," she responded with a wide grin, then turned her head to redirect her attention to him. "But don't worry, I think I've aired you out enough over the past couple of weeks that you're no longer stuffy."

Gabbi snorted, then rolled her eyes. "Honey, you wish. He was _born_ stuffy if you ask me."

Rouge laughed, and took another swig of beer.

Lukas drank his beer as Rouge and Gabbi bonded over his torturous kidnapping. Women. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

"What? I get no back up here?" he complained, "I was kidnapped _out of my bed_ and my own sister is high-fiving my kidnapper? Geeze…"

Gabriella shifted those champagne eyes over to him and proceeded to roll them, "Your fault for being careless," she shrugged, "Though I was worried about you. Miscalculation on my part. Had I known my homegirl here was in charge, I wouldn't have been."

 _Homegirl?_ His sister had been hanging around the riffraff for too long, closed up in this sketchy little tavern she loved so much if she was calling notorious criminals her 'hommies'.

Then again, who had he been holed up with for the past month? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black; he was in some crazy, fucked up pseudo-relationship with said notorious criminal and he was a damned vice admiral. At least Gabbi was a civilian and could plead the fifth.

Him? He had no excuse.

Lukas dropped his forehead into his arms with a groan as the girls laughed at him. He felt a hand brush the crown of his head and he didn't have to shift to know it was his mother. He sensed her happiness at his safety, sensed that she was glad he hadn't been mistreated during his, well, more or less "vacation" and a tiny pinprick of gleeful wickedness. Gabbi and this bar were rubbing off on her.

"What are you thinking, okaa-chan?" he muttered, turning his head to look at her.

She smiled, "I can see why you like her despite your differences."

"Really? You can have her. She's a PITA."

"So!" Gabbi suddenly slammed her hand down on the bar and leaned in close to Lukas and Rouge, "If you guys are lacking something to do tonight, I heard there's a rager happening on Grove 11. Naturally, I was invited but I deal with drunk men every day. Could be something fun for you to do together…" she winked.

"Gabbi…" Lukas growled, recognizing that look in her eyes. Meddling when she shouldn't be. When she really didn't need to…

She pursed her lips at him, "What, Lukey? It's just an innocent party."

"I'm a vice admiral. I don't associate with criminals."

"Oh?" she retorted, "And where have you been for the past month?"

"Not by choice!"

"And what was the cloak and mask charade for when you came in my bar?"

"Precautionary…" ah shit… he was losing steam against her, he could feel it coming on.

"Precautionary? Who're you hiding from? It wouldn't be," she faux gasped for dramatic effect, "the _marines_?"

Done. Stick a fork in him. He made no comment and spun his beer bottle on its edge.

Gabbi smirked and turned to Rouge, "What do you say, Rouge? Party? Show my uptight- _anikii_ what it's all about?"

"Hell yes!" Rouge responded, tipped her head back, and finished off her beer in one impressive gulp, before slamming it down on the bar with a vicious grin and eyes that danced blue flames of excitement. "There's no party like a party with a Dragon." For a brief moment, it seemed as if her irises narrowed into slits and her canines lengthened into tiny fangs as she flashed her smile at Lukas.

"And besides, the last time you and I were at the same party, you were totally lame. You might have _looked_ like you belonged, but you sure as hell didn't _enjoy_ yourself," she drawled the word enjoy suggestively and bounced her shoulders in a mini dance move.

Gabbi's grin mirrored her own, and she turned to her brother, drapping herself across the bar, and grabbed his chin with one hand and forced him to nod, pushing his lips together with her fingers and saying, in a deep voice to mimic his, "Of course Rouge! I'd love to come party with you and let loose for one!"

Behind them, Angela hid a smile behind her hand and shook her head at their antics. Rouge responded by throwing her the thumbs up and popping to her feet. "No worries, I'm _sublime_ at getting people to let loose. It's like a gift I have or something."

Gabbi laughed at that and reached below the bar, fishing around for a moment before producing two more beers. She dropped one down in front of Lukas, and tossed the other to Rouge, who caught it effortlessly with one hand. "That's for the road," she said with a wink.

He still couldn't believe he'd gotten suckered into this. By his own family at that! His sister all but shoved him out of the door and his mother, his okaa-chan had _waved_ at him through the glass!

He was going to have words with them when he was back to his normal life routine. Words about a career change. Mingling with the street rats and the riffraff was bad for their mental health. He knew. He was mentally insane enough now and he'd only been hanging around one baddie.

Now, he and Rouge were headed to this house party. Gabbi had given them a little flyer with the address on it and two beers for the road. That girl. She was sticking her nose into things that she couldn't even begin to understand. He sensed that she super liked Rouge and how could he blame her? The Dragon was incredibly charismatic; he'd known that from the very beginning. Men wanted to be with her, girls wanted to be her.

Really, the two of them were meant to be fast friends. Both twenty years old, fatherless from war, raised in hostile communities.

And introducing them meant he was digging his own grave for something like _this_ to happen. This party spelled all sorts of bad. He was about to walk into the lion's den with nothing more than a flimsy mask separating him from total acknowledgement. And then chaos.

But he couldn't let her go alone. She would go too, with or without him. At least if he was there, he could diffuse the men that would come after her. Lukas never used to be a jealous man; he had a pretty high confidence of himself. But something about walking in on your fiancé fucking some other man while you were away on duty rattled some of that sturdy foundation. The idea that any specimen of male would come close enough to Rouge to breathe on her left a bitter taste in the back of his throat.

To hell with the fact that he knew he didn't have any rights to be jealous or anything of that nature.

He heard the party before they even got on the right street. The bass was so loud it reverberated through the pavement and his boots and up into his body. And the smell of alcohol, sex, sweat and drugs was a solid lead.

The house was fairly big on the outside compared to what was normally found in the lower numbered lawless groves. Three stories with two wrap around porches on the first and second floors and the eerie blue glow of a pool out back. And the place was so packed with bodies that people were lingering on the street just to find some fresh air and an open space to light up.

Lukas chucked his empty bottle in the neighbor's outside trash can before leaning into her, "This is really a terrible idea," he expressed, "Without the mask, I'll be recognized in a second."

Rouge's lips only curved into a smile in response. Her eyes skated over the individuals slumming it outside the party, smoking various herbs and laughing drunkenly at terrible jokes. She pinpointed a nearby individual who wore a low baseball cap, and next to him, his frat-brother wore a pair of dark shades that glinted in the dim light.

"Stay right here for me, babe, and I'll get you a proper party outfit." She winked at him, tapped him under the chin with her knuckles, then strut in the direction of the small posse of men passing a large hand rolled blunt that smelled of something illicit. She grinned like a cat approaching its prey, then, when she was less than a yard away, she casually, near sensually, shrugged off her blue vest.

"Would you hold this for me?" she asked the man in the baseball cap as she stopped her stroll directly in front of him. The man blinked at her in surprise at her sudden appearance, got a good look at her, and grinned widely, his eyes shinning with excitement.

"Anything you want, suga-"

Suddenly, her fist lashed out and she punched him swiftly in the temple. He went down like a stone, but Rouge's quick finger plucked the hat from his head, twirled it around in her fingers, and plopped it on her head before the 200 pound man hit the ground.

A sudden and abrupt silence followed as the rest of the men in the circle gaped at her. Rouge sighed, cocked her hip out, and turned her eyes to the man with the sunglasses. "I'm gonna need those too. I know you big boys can figure out that it would be so much easier if you just handed them to me."

Deliberately, Rouge leaned down to pick up her fallen vest, and did so in a manner that exposed the full of her back to the men in a long, slow sweep. Then she righted, and when she grinned at them, fire danced around the edges of her lips and her eyes glowed a soft blue. "Whaddya say?"

"Yes ma'am," the man with the sunglasses said with a low whistle. He shook his head almost ruefully as he plucked them from his face and tossed her way. She caught them easily, then bowed her thanks, her other hand delicately holding the baseball cap in place as her stetson bounced across her shoulders.

While two of the men looked rather angry, neither of them said a thing. The other men's expression varied from impressed to full out admiring, with goofy grins as their drunk eyes skated over her retreating figure, almost as good as her approaching one, all but ignoring their unconscious comrade at their feet.

Rouge slipped her vest back on, stopped right in front of Lukas, and reached up to slide them onto his face. She made sure to press her breasts against his chest, feeling emboldened and sexy from her little stunt. Then she plucked the had off of her own head, and smashed it down on his head with a wicked grin, teasingly pulling the brim low over his eyes.

"There. You'll totally fit in now. Just don't lose those...and don't arrest anyone. Just relax...enjoy yourself for once," Rouge's smile turned more subtle, and her fingers trailed down from his hat over his cheeks to pull down the mask. Lifting herself up on tip toes, she pressed her lips to his in a brief but thorough kiss. "I promise, you won't regret it."

Chuckling to herself, she dropped back down, turned her back to him, and headed straight for the party, her hips swaying to the beat of the music and her head bouncing in tune.

He shook his head and watched through slitted fingers as she sauntered up to a bunch of dude in various states of inebriated and worked her aggressive female charm to procure a pair of aviator shades and a baseball cap that supported the local sports team. She returned and secured both on his face to effectively cover his features and make it easier for him to drink before laying a smoldering kiss on him and a promise that he was gonna have fun.

Well. She kissed him like that again and he'd call this whole thing worth it.

He jogged three steps to catch up with her and slipped his fingertips into the hem of her shorts so that he didn't lose her as the density of bodies increased. The front door was wide open and she was a champ, pushing their way through and in.

Lukas had never been to a party like this ever before in his life. Joining the marines at ten sorta killed any rebellious teenage streak he might have had. He supposed that he'd been to similar gatherings, huge house parties hosted by higher ranking marines when he was a young captain or something. But the similarities stopped at a packed house. There was shit going down in the shady corners that you only read about in books. Drugs… sex… illicit things. His Haki was on overload and years of practice enabled him to be able to dial it back so he wasn't hearing and feeling all the hype around him. He zeroed in on Rouge and she was a one-track mind; drinks.

She sniffed and he couldn't help but smirk as her incredible sense of smell led them into the kitchen. It was a huge galley kitchen and that was a good thing because right in the dead center of the floor was…

A bathtub. A great big, ancient, clawfooted bathtub filled nearly to the brim with some strange shade of liquid. Like a cross between red and green and blue. Next to the tub on a little stool was about, oh, he guesstimated around 500 red cups.

She didn't waste any time. She grabbed two cups, ducked them into the bath and handed him a filled cup of mystery liquid. He glanced at her over the top of his shades.

"Seriously?" he asked skeptically, "You want me to drink this? How do you know someone hasn't bathed in that recently? Or cleaned it?" but regardless, he took a cautious sip anyway. What the hell, right? Living a little, drinking the mystery ghetto drink.

He nearly spit it out, "Ugh!" he made a face, "That's terrible!" it was sweet and a little fizzy and had a distinct cough syrup after taste, "What the hell is that shit?" he handed it to her so that she could double-fist it and did a quick dart around with his eyes. A half-filled liter of whiskey sat on the counter to his right and he snatched it up and drank straight from the bottle. The burn cleared out that lingering flavor of the crazy juice.

He let out a sigh of relief, "That's better. I'll drink this. You outlaws can drink that…" he gestured to the tub, "whatever…"

He had some really mixed feelings about drinking here at this strange, wild party. Normally, he was not so opposed to a good party, but most of the ones he went to were impromptu meetings at bars with friends that turned a little wild. He didn't know anyone here and he was a disguised, missing marine surrounded by civilians and riffraff alike. Losing his inhibitions could lead to fatal mistakes.

Then again, drinking might loosen him up a little. And Rouge was definitely at ease here. No way was he gonna leave her here all by herself, though he suspected that she probably had friends here.

Ah. Fuck it. He was about to head on a very dangerous mission that could jeopardize his entire career and he was in far too deep emotionally with an infamous woman who he was most likely never going to see again afterwards.

Bottoms up, baby.

Her eyes crinkled at the edges as she watched him knock back an open bottle whiskey he found lying around. "I bet you that was roofied," she winked conspiratorially at him, "Though on second thought, I'm sure I'd enjoy the repercussions if I got you back to the inn."

Her teeth flashed in a cheeky, wicked smile, then she promptly drained first one, then the second cup filled with Island Juice, the nickname for any brew that consisted of everything and anything related to alcohol tossed in. Her sensitive taste buds picked up on vodka, rum, peppermint schnapps, rum punch, and even black licorice liquor. Though she was a champ with liquor, even she grimaced just slightly as she lowered the empty cups and licked her lips. "It's not very tasty...but it's extremely potent," she informed him, anticipation and excitement dancing in her eyes.

"Shots!" A male voice called from the other side of the room.

Suddenly, the call went around the room, and slowly became a chant that radiated out from the kitchen, until the whole party was screaming for shots in tune to the thumping beat that reverberated from the huge speakers situated around the premises. Grinning from ear to ear, Rouge joined in.

An hour later, and Rouge had consumed eight shots and was working on her fourth cup of Island Juice. Her head was swimming pleasantly and her body hummed with drunken awareness. She still had a few cups to go for her to hit her target goal of being flat-out drunk, as she'd decided earlier in the evening. Lukas had long given up on the Island Juice, and had only taken that first shot that she'd forced on him, but the level of whiskey in the bottle he continued to carry with him had sunk significantly since their arrival, much to her satisfaction.

For the first hour, they spent the majority of their time in the back room where the shots had been distributed, playing drinking games with the civilians and riffraff that pervaded the party. They'd dominated at most of the games, and in the end Rouge had changed most of the rules to make it so that she drank when she won instead of when she lost, or else she'd still be sober as fuck. She was a champ at the card games in particular, and Lukas had dominated the beer bowling with his sharp-shooting skills, and so together, they had been unstoppable

Bored now with the games, Rouge urged them into the dimmer front room, where the majority of the music and dancing was going on. Couches lined the walls and held half naked bodies gyrating and grinding in the pseudo-privacy of the shadows. Cutting through the darkness were black lights that made the flames on her bathing suit glow and strobe lights that cast an eerie stop-and-go effect throughout the room.

"Let's dance Lukas!" Rouge called, her speech only beginning to slur ever slightly. She tugged him through the sea of bodies, draining the rest of her drink as she went and tossing the empty cup onto a pile of empty cups by the side of the room. When she'd lead him to roughly the center of the room, Rouge whirled around to face him, tugging him closer, pulling him flush to her body.

Her cheeks were rosy from the alcohol, accentuating her freckles, and her eyes had darkened to a deep sapphire. Her lips were red from all of the punch she'd consumed, and her body was vibrating with energy. Unlike many people, who got sleepy from drinking, Rouge only got even more energized. She wrapped her arms around Lukas' neck and pulled him down closer to her, her face right next to his ear to be overheard over the thumping music.

"You'll dance with me this time, right?" she asked impishly, purposefully pressing her hips against his as she undulated to the beat. Her breasts were pressed flat against his chest, and rubbed suggestively against it with every sensual move that she urged against him. "Because I think you've got some hidden moves in that banging body of yours that you're just dying to show me." She nipped at his earlobe teasingly.

When she'd decided, earlier that day, that she was going to get inebriated this evening, it had been to forget about her worry of Niki, to forget about her confusion over Lukas. But now she found herself inevitably drawn to him, unable to stop herself from touching him, getting close to him. All thoughts of caution had effectively been wiped from her brain by the delightful fuzziness of alcohol on her brain. She wanted to forget about the stress that waited for her in the morning, forget about all of her confusion and just enjoy herself, but she enjoyed herself with Lukas so much that she couldn't help it, couldn't stop herself from seeking oblivion with him. Part of her, at the very beginning of the party, had be wary of this result, but by this point...she no longer cared.

"You know I love dancing, after all," she reminded him, and slid her thigh between his to get even closer as she gyrated in tune to the beat.

Alright… he was having fun.

He suspected it was from the alcohol, limbering him up. Then again, he supposed that he was just that type of guy. As much as he had been opposed to being here at first, he fit in smoothly once he had the lay of the land. It wasn't in him to be anti-social.

After all the games and the shots, Rouge dragged him out to the front room where some sensuous dancing was taking place. The lighting in the room was startling at best, the flashing lights and black lights creating dark shadows and effects in the space.

As she pressed her body against him and slurred out something about stellar dance moves, he decided that he rather liked her drunk. Not that she was that drunk and he was frankly amazed because she'd consumed about her own weight in liquor. He lost count of how many shots she'd had and every time he turned around, it seemed she'd disappeared to go fill her cup with that putrid Island Juice.

He downed his whiskey with a little gasp at the spice of it and deposited the empty bottle on a table right near them. Normally, he was a champ at consuming adult beverages because of his size and metabolism, but he hadn't been properly intoxicated in weeks, probably months so his tolerance was down a little. Not to say he was a two beer queer either, but he was feeling deliciously fuzzy from just half a bottle of whiskey so when she rubbed her body against him, he sucked up the feeling.

"Dancing is just like sex," he replied, dropping his face down to her neck so she could hear him, "And I happen to _excel_ at the latter so dancing should be a cinch," he grinned and traced his mouth over her neck and up behind her ear as he followed the rhythm that she started to the music.

His hands found purchase on her hips and he slipped his hands into the hem of her shorts and rolled his fingertips against the thin material that he knew was a thin little pink thong. He pulled her impossibly closer, like he could climb inside her. His chest mashed against her breasts and they were hip to hip. It was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

As they danced, his eyes bounced around the room, a bad habit from his life in the marines where he was always aware of everything around him. Off to his right – her left – there was a commotion going on by the couches. People started gathering and chanting and from what he could tell, it looked like they were crowded around some young woman sprawled on the couch with her midriff exposed. But before he could shift around enough to see, something else caught his attention.

Someone walked into the party and Lukas recognized them instantly. His reaction? He ducked his face unnecessarily into Rouge's shoulder. It was a knee-jerk reaction and it confused him slightly that he would react in such a way as to hide from the man that walked into the party. Not only was he fairly obscured with the glasses and hat, but since when did he hide from fellow marines?

Though no one would have guessed that the man that walked in was a marine. He was a scout, an undercover agent that infiltrated parties and raves like these to scope out criminals and get intel on them. Lukas normally wouldn't have known this one from anyone else at the party, but he knew the man personally, had trained him actually and the shot of panic that went through him was surprising to say the least. He made a mental note to not get anywhere near this man.

Lukas' connected dancing with sex, and she lost the ability to focus on just dancing. She suddenly became aware of everywhere that they were touching, aware of the heat radiating off his hard body, aware of his crisp scent in her nostrils.

She needed to be tasting him too.

Rouge's lips were an inch away from his neck when her eyes were caught by the commotion happening near the large couch. She paused, her curiosity-and her survival instincts, since a criminal had to be aware of everything going on to survive-was pricked, and her eyes lingered long enough to see the woman stretched out on the couch as a male leaned over her, and pressed his lips to her belly button.

Belly-button shots. _Bingo_.

Her grin was almost feral with hungry delight, and her eyes danced as she suddenly pulled back from Lukas, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. "I found something even more entertaining that dancing for us to do. Come on, you're about to get yourself a belly button shot."

Without even waiting to see if he was following, Rouge threaded her way through the crowd surrounding the couch, emerging into the loose semi circle just as another man pulled back from the woman stretched out on the couch. Laughing drunkenly, the girl pushed herself up and off the couch. Rouge wasted no time, boldly striding forward until her knees brushed against the side of the couch. "Hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen, because I am most _definitely_ next."

A holler of approval went up, and Rouge lifted both of her hands in the air and shimmied her shoulders. The hollers went up into full-out cheers; Rouge was well known to many simply because of her reputation as a kick-ass partier, and she always enjoyed a warm welcome wherever she chose to drink and let loose.

Rouge shrugged out of her vest, tossed it onto the top of the couch, then sprawled out across the couch. A man with light blond hair cut short and warm brown eyes approached her from the side. He held a bottle of tequila in one hand and a cup of limes in the other. Tucked into his pocket, she could see a shaker of salt. "Hey Rouge, long time no see. You ready?"

"Bobby! Figures you'd be hosting a party as bangin' as this." She grinned, then motioned to her taunt, flat tummy before tucking her hands behind her head. "Do me up good, boy."

Bobby laughed, shaking his head at her, then poured the tequila into her belly button. Then he made sure to spill a little over her abdomen and shook the salt shaker along her happy trail. Finally, he rested a lime right on her skin directly above the hem of her low-cut shorts. "You got it sister." Then he straightened, winked, and headed for the other couch were people had started doing belly button shots.

"Let's do this!" Rouge exclaimed, and lifted her eyes to search out Lukas among the people crowded around her, cheering for someone to take the shot. Suddenly, a man she did not know stepped forward and swooped down in one smoother motion. He took the shot, licked her stomach down to the lime, then picked it up with his teeth so fast she couldn't tell him to stop.

Preoccupied as he was with tracking where the marine scout was going, Lukas was only half-listening when she said something to him and started to drag him away.

"Wait, what?" he stuttered, ripping his gaze away from the scout and pitting his sights on whatever she was dragging him towards. She stopped at the edge of the couch, said something and the crowd around them burst up in a cheer and before he could process, she was sprawled out across the sofa and some guy was pouring tequila, salt and lime all over her taunt stomach.

Maybe the alcohol was making him a little slow or something, but had she said _belly button shots_ just a minute ago?

Belly button shots meant someone was going to _drink_ that tequila from her skin… oh right. She wanted him to do that. That's what she had said. He was going to take a belly button shot.

The time it took him to process this and actually get on board was only seconds really, but those seconds were enough of a delay. No one wanted to waste a good shot on a sexy stomach like hers and because he took those precious seconds to play catch up, someone else stepped up to the plate and took the shot.

The emotions thundered through him faster than he could mentally comprehend. First; shock. That douche stole his shot. Then, the jealousy burned through him so hot that the immediate vicinity around him drew cold, as if he was sucking in all the heat as fuel. It didn't matter that that was how belly button shots were taken; _no one_ was allowed to put their mouth all over her while he was still breathing.

Lukas was a pretty even-keeled kinda guy. It took a lot to rattle him. Perhaps this fit stemmed from the fact that this relationship he had with her was forbidden and fleeting with an expiration date. But perhaps more or less the reason was that she brought out bits of him – good and bad – that he didn't know he was. A month ago, he was a law-abiding, justice-seeking, ferocious criminal catcher with an easy ego and a smooth confidence. Now… he wasn't really sure what he was.

He whirled around and deftly spun the baseball cap around so the brim was on backwards and his green eyes blazed fires behind those shades. He reached out and grabbed the guy by the collar of his tee shirt and yanked him up close.

"You stole my shot…" he growled then reeled his arm back and decked that kid so hard that he sent him through the small crowd.

There was an awkward silence as everyone gasped and glanced around, from Lukas to Rouge and back. He knew what they were all feeling; that he just punched some guy for touching the Dragon. The Dragon didn't need saving. He didn't care.

The kid that was pouring the tequila – Rouge called him Bobby – saved the moment by raising the tequila bottle and yelling, "Round Two!" and came over to the couch and said, "Stay put, little Rouge. This guy needs a shot," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder to Lukas who dusted off his hands for effect.

Bobby poured the tequila, sprinkled the salt above her navel this time and placed the lime between her teeth, "So you can give your savior a sour kiss. Pucker up," he winked and stepped aside.

Lukas stepped forward, braced his hands on the edge of the couch, leaned forward and sucked the liquor out of her belly button letting his mouth linger against her skin before licking the salt right up to her bikini strap and finally, he stole the lime from right between her teeth. He sucked the juice, spit out the lime slice and made a face at the sourness before leaning back down and giving her a 'sour kiss' as Bobby put it.

Rouge half-sat up with a growl of irritation, opening her mouth to rip him a new ear with her displeasure, when suddenly the man was gone.

Or, to be more precise, Lukas had him. Rouge watched, stunned, as Lukas hoisted the guy up by the shirt, and decked him. The guy went flying, and a stunned silence quickly fell over their part of the room. Rouge gaped at the vice admiral, unable to grasp the idea that he'd punched a guy out for taking a belly button shot.

Bobby, always the thoughtful host, suddenly swooped in to rectify the scene, and Rouge felt a sense of relief in her chest as he effortlessly diverted everyone's attention back to more drinking. A cheer went up in the room-a drunken brawl was certainly nothing to damper _anyone_ _'s_ mood at a party like this-and Bobby set up another belly button shot. Rouge laid down like he'd instructed, and sent him a perked brow when he placed the lime in her teeth.

Damn cheeky bastard. Great, now everyone was going to start spreading a rumor about a dude getting possessive with the _Dragon_ , and now Bobby was encouraging that thought. How the hell was she going to get out of-

Lukas swooped down swiftly and surely the moment that Bobby withdrew, as if determined to take his shot before anyone could steal it from him again. While she'd given countless belly button shots before, she was unprepared for the rush of heat that tingled up her spine, following the path of his tongue as he licked his way up her stomach, then finally captured her lips, and the lime, in a 'sour kiss.'

 _Scratch that_ , she thought as her hand snaked out to nab him behind his head and hold him in place as she met him kiss for kiss, _the possessive Lukas is damned hot. He can punch someone out then lick my body anytime._

A wolf whistle went up in the room, and it was met with hooting and hollering until, with an irritated growl, Rouge broke off the kiss and rose up from the couch in one swift burst of power. "You're all cruising for some punishment," she warned the onlookers, to which some people laughed, others paled and withdrew, and some shouted encouragements for round two.

Rouge rolled her eyes at them, grabbed Lukas by the hand, and tugged him away from the couch, into the crowd. The mass of bodies soon swallowed them up, and the partyers resumed their shenanigans.

Rouge had a new goal now. His velvety tongue had stoked the fires of her lust that had been kindled when they'd been dancing, and when Rouge was drunk? Her ability to deny her lust was significantly reduced.

Though her feet were steady, Rouge's head swam and her body burned as she tugged Lukas insistently towards the back of the house, then took a turn down a narrow corridor that was less habited than the rest of the house. At the very end of the corridor, there was a small door that two people were currently entering. Rouge let loose a low growl, and the two people froze, turning their heads to catch the glowing blue eyes in the dimness of the hallway.

"Scram," Rouge told them, her voice rough, and the two hesitated for only a moment, only until fire danced along Rouge's lips as she slowly bared her teeth in a warning snarl, before they bolted, abandoning the little broom closet.

Rouge wasted no time. The moment the two were gone, her tough facade dissolved and a giggle emerged from her lips as she pulled Lukas into the broom closet, and slammed it shut behind them. Within seconds, she was on him. She wasted no time, whirling around and pinning him against the far back wall between a tall wooden closet and a cluster of brooms in the other corner.

Her whole body was on fire for him, each molecule of her skin hyperaware of him and aroused in a way that her drunken mind could not deny. She dimly remembered her decision to not have sex with the marine before her, to not complicate things any more than they had already become, but the decision seemed so unimportant to her right now.

"I want you," Rouge whispered huskily to Lukas the moment before she latched her lips onto his, pressing her body into his, running her hands all over his body. She was like a cat in heat, rubbing herself against him, rubbing the bulge in his pants provocatively. "Take me," she urged, nipping at his lower lip, her words slurring slightly as her arousal made her drunken mind less eloquent.

As soon as she started to drag him away from the crowd, the anticipation built in his stomach. He knew where she was going, knew what she had in mind and not because he could feel the heat swirling out of her with his Haki. It was plainly obvious from her body language alone.

She kicked out the poor couple who had the same intent and he laughed as she literally scared the bejeezus out of them before ripping open the door herself and all but shoving his drunk ass in. He stumbled and came up against the back wall and she was on him faster than he could blink. Her hands were under his shirt, palming up his stomach and her lips captured his in a fevered kiss. She was impossibly close to him, rubbing her sinful body against his and he matched her, the intense spike in arousal causing his head to spin coupled with the whiskey floating through his bloodstream.

But that's just what she did to him. She rattled him always.

There was something incredibly hot about messing around a little in a broom closet, drunk, both of them attuned to every sensation. Maybe it was just the impromptu-ness of it, so desperate to be all up in each other's business. Her words rolled over his lips and he took them at face value with a deep chuckle as his hands shaped over her body, over her breasts. Nothing wrong with copping a feel in the dark; he'd been pretty tense for her all evening, since she'd laid that first sizzling kiss on him.

Lukas ran his hands down her stomach to the fastening of her jean shorts and popped the button/fly with expert ease. Then, he slipped his hand right into her shorts, not even bothering with taking them off and he slid his fingers over her sex, his heart racing at how wet she was already. He groaned with pleasure against her mouth, the sound amplified in the tight space of the closet, shut away from the heavy beats of the music. With his free hand, he reached down and hiked her leg up so that her knee was level with his hip and the position made it so much easier to finger her.

He curved her spine back a little as he dragged his mouth away from hers and along her jaw until he traced his tongue over the edge of her ear.

"Come for me and I'll let you suck my cock," he rumbled with a smirk right in her ear, purposely wording it like the act would be a tremendous honor for her.

Rouge perked her brow and pulled her head back to shoot him an incredulous look. "Oh, you'll let me? I don't think so..." she hissed, but her voice was deep from need and small throaty sounds continued to emerge from her lips at the feel of his hand against her sex. Her hips ground against his fingers, eager for his touch.

But it wasn't enough. What they'd been doing for the past couple of weeks...the fooling around, right now, it wasn't enough. Her body roared for more, demanded more. Her drunken mind didn't have the defense to deny it, and so she was left like a cat in heat, rubbing herself against him, rubbing his cock through the material of his pants. He was ramrod stiff for her and that only made her even more hot for him.

No, what she wanted, what her body _craved_ , was sex. Right now, hot and dirty in the broom closet.

Her head was dizzy and her body warm from the alcohol, a combination that left her unable to deny herself anything. "No, I want more, Lukas. More," she moaned, lifting herself up on tip toe and pressing herself in to him, trailing her lips up the side of his neck until she could nip at his ear. "I want you...all of you...inside me..." she whispered huskily, her words slurring very slightly.

One of her hands was already tugging his shirt up while the other fumbled unsuccessfully, mindlessly, with the fastenings for his pants. The hand up his shirt trailed up the ridges of his abs, urging the material up as her panting breaths fanned out across his neck.

Between the high she brought him and the drunk buzz in his brain, his ability to stop her was negated. He wanted her so badly, right here, right now, in this dirty broom closet with the scent of sex and alcohol wrapping around them, her hands on his body, her throaty demands in his ear.

They had danced around it for so long. How easy it would be to just _fuck_ and it would feel so damned good…

Lukas thrust his hand between them to help her as she fumbled with his pants but then… he stopped her, covering her hand with his and stopping her attempts. This was wrong. Not wrong to have the sex because let's face it, he'd come to terms with the fact that it was wrong on a different level and he no longer cared, but it was wrong to have sex like this. Drunk, in a dirty broom closet like a one-night-stand.

This might very well be the one and only time and he wasn't about to degrade what they had – messed up, fleeting and forbidden as it was – to a cheap fuck. She was more to him than something quick to sate the biological urge and the brief need to feel close to someone.

He wanted the whole kit-and-kaboodle with her. The all night noise, the sweaty sheets, the naked bodies, not sleeping 'til the sun came up. Especially if it was only gonna happen once. And most definitely not a drunk, impulsive decision.

It freaked him out a little that she meant that much more to him.

"No," he said to her, "I'm not fucking you drunk in a stranger's broom closet."

Rouge...froze.

Had she just been...turned down?

His words were like a bucket of cold water over her head. Rouge released him like he was made of poison and stepped back, putting distance between them before she could even begin to process this. Her drunk brain was offended, _angry..._ hurt.

He didn't want her. She was sexy as hell, and he didn't want her. Not sex, at least, but he was okay with having her suck his cock!

Her eyes narrowed, and flints of blue sparks illuminated her sapphire irises. _How dare he!_ She had never been rejected in her life. After everything they'd shared...and he didn't want to have sex with her?

Fuck. That.

"Fine," she said, her voice icy and her eyes cold. She turned her back on him, tossing her wild hair over one shoulder. She didn't look back, strode right out of the broom closet, slammed the door shut, and left. She had no problem getting out; once she got close to the crowded rooms, the moment people saw the expression on her face, they parted like the sea.

Within seconds, Rouge vanished from the party, and then from the grove. Dark, glimmering dragon wings carried her up, and away into the night. She didn't go home, she didn't go anywhere. She soared high up into the dark night sky, above the clouds even, and flew around in circles until goosebumps flared across her skin.

She kept her mind deliberately blank, eyes closed, and merely felt the cold wash over her face. She stayed until she was practically numb from it, then descended from such heights. Her eyes peeled back, and she sought out the grove with the inn. She would rather not face Lukas, but there might be another bed for her to sleep in at the inn. A single bed, where she could sleep in peace.

As she descended, her conviction became stronger. The cold air had taken away her drunkness, and with a clear head she remembered that she didn't want to sleep with him anyway. Couldn't sleep with him. Within days, she would never see him again, and as it is, that idea was already difficult to swallow. She didn't want to make it any worse by sleeping with the guy. There was something wholly more intimate about sex than anything else they'd done...something that was different from any of the times she'd slept with a man. She couldn't face it knowing what the future held.

When she arrived at the inn, she was shocked to find that her room, _their_ room, was empty and dark. She'd been gone for more than an hour. He would have had time to return. Why wasn't he here?

Was he with someone else?

Rouge's eyes narrowed, but she drew in a breath and let it out. It didn't matter. She was tired now, and weary. She didn't want to wake the innkeeper as it was, so she slipped into the room, locked the door, and went to bed in the dark room, curling up in a ball under the covers.

It was over before he had time to defend himself and his decision. With an icy glare and a curt "fine", she was gone, slamming the door shut behind her and leaving him with a slack jaw and blue balls in the broom closet.

That was… definitely not how he pictured this going. Waves of anger and hurt waked after her departure, along with tendrils of sexual frustration, obviously enough.

He didn't understand. How could she not see that she was worth more than a dirty cupboard? If she had stuck around long enough to hear him out, they could have fooled around and maybe gone back to the inn or something. He didn't know really, but anything was better than her simply… leaving.

Panic flared through him suddenly. She was hurt, alone and sexually unsatisfied. It was a recipe for one thing: she was gonna go get some somewhere else.

That was what he did to her, to Heather. He'd left her alone, pining after a traveling marine and when he'd come back to surprise her… he'd never forget the sounds, the feelings, the smoke in his barrel and the hole in the wall above the bed where he'd caught her fucking some guy from town. The yelling, the conversation, the heartbreak.

Rouge was so much different than even that relationship had been. He'd lose his shit if she fucked some other guy tonight. And it would be his fault, wouldn't it.

He slammed open the closet door, remembering to snag the hat at least before he left and jammed it low on his head to obstruct his façade. He was out of that party in the flash and the cool air was like a balm, clearing his head and letting his brain settle from the backstroke it was doing in his skull. He had to find her. The panic and the what-ifs made his heart race and he flared out his Haki to try and capture her waves. It was useless; she was beyond his grid. That fast?

Lukas didn't know how long he was out for, looking. He went to the inn first, then scoped any house party he found, went to her ship, went back to Gabbi's Tavern, went to the estate gate where they were supposed to get Niki, back to a couple more parties and late-night bars. By the time he called it quits and headed back to the inn, he was tired from thinking, sober as shit and tired from searching.

There was no one here to watch him climb the stairs and when he reached for the doorknob, he stopped short to find it locked. He tried again, jimmying it. Nope, locked shut. He spread his Haki and she was there, sleeping. Had she been here the whole time? No, because he'd come here first and she wasn't here. Had she found a man? Brought him back then kicked him out? It must've been at least two hours since he left the party. Plenty of time for a quick fuck.

He shook the door, "Rouge!" he growled, his temper flaring. He hit the door with his fist, loud enough for her to potentially wake up, but soft enough that he didn't wake the neighbors, "Open the damned door!" with some mustered effort, he snapped the doorknob clean off and the wood eased open slowly.

She was there, curled in a ball under the covers. It was impossible to tell if she was awake or not, but judging by the noise he'd made breaking the fucking door in, she was probably up and just ignoring him.

He marched over to the bed, not bothering to keep quiet and leaned over to shake her shoulder, "Rouge!" he repeated, "Wake up! Where'd you go? You didn't go fuck some other guy, did you?" he pulled the covers off her head to see her face.

Rouge was in the middle of a dreamless slept when she suddenly felt hands on her shoulders and was jerked away by a violent shaking. Her eyes flew open and she was one second away from blowing him away when she realized who it was. Her eyes, the pupils narrowing inhumanly, narrowed on her attacked and saw that it was Lukas, his eyes severe and his jaw tight.

"What?" Rouge asked, an automatic reaction in her confusion as she pushed his hands away and scrambled back against the headboard, looking around in alarm as if some threat lurked nearby. But this his words caught up to her, and she went cold, her eyes flickering back to him in a very lizard-like way.

"What did you say...?" This time, her voice was low, gravelly, and as cold as ice. Her eyes instantly sparked blue fire and her fangs elongated in her mouth, but she fought the shift that she often associated with her anger. Why the hell would she fuck someone else? She'd been trying to fuck him.

Her face turned stony, and instead of blowing up at him, she moved away from him, to the far side of the bed.

"Fuck you Lukas," she said in a quiet, somewhat vicious voice. It covered the sound of her hurt very effectively. "I came right back here and went to bed, thank you very much. I'm tired, so just leave me the hell alone. To do otherwise would be risking life and limb," she warned him, her eyes removed from his figure as she promptly tugged the covers back viciously, positioned herself at the far-most edge of the bed, pulled them back up until she was neigh covered, and went still, eyes shut, body tensed but stubbornly as still as a sleeping woman could get.

He didn't recoil from the downright vicious look she sent him. After all, he'd been on the receiving side of a full-fledged dragon. A little dental work and lizard eyes weren't gonna throw his shit.

But her hostility confirmed it for him; she was being truthful at least. She was mad and frustrated and hurt yeah, but not enough to seek revenge on him by finding some asshole to bed her.

The panic fused out of him like a balloon losing air and all the anger and the rise in temper fanned out too, losing steam. He dropped his weight on the edge of the bed, perching temporarily. His hands were fisted on his knees; he hadn't realized until now that he'd been shaking with all sorts of emotions. She would really kill him if she knew what he'd been feeling for the past two hours.

She meant more to him than he thought and a tiny, itsy bitsy part of him thought that maybe, just a little bit that he might have accidentally fallen in love with her.

But he wasn't ready to commit fully to that thought. It was just an idea. Just something to explain how crazy he felt over her.

He glanced back at her balled up figure in the far corner of the bed. Whoa buddy, she was pissed off at him. But if she knew… if she just knew why he'd said no, he wondered if that would sate her.

But she wasn't gonna hear him now. She was too mad at him. He would make her hear him later.

Lukas got up and with more effort to being silent, he moved over to the bathroom. He smelled like alcohol and god only knows what else so he started the shower and hopped in to get some of that linger scent off him and clear his head so he could get some sleep. He wondered; would she punch him if he tried to get in that bed with her?

 _I don_ _'_ _t know_ _…_ he thought as he soaped up. Risking life and limb might be worth it for both a bed and her warm body…

His shower done, the water off, he dried off and left the towel right in the bathroom before strutting naked back into the bedroom, forgoing modesty in an effort to find some shorts to sleep in. Once he'd draped his ass in cotton, he stared at the bed and the tiny little ball nestled still in the farthest corner. And he decided… nope. He'd gone too many weeks without a proper bed to be even the smallest bit afraid for certain parts of his anatomy and her potential claws. He wanted the cushy softness of mattress and pillows.

He eased himself onto the mattress, hoping for the least amount of movement so as not to jar her awake. Then, he rolled over onto his side so that he was facing her, despite the fact she was facing away from him and towards the wall.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, even though she was sleeping.

Rouge stayed utterly still, eyes closed, as she felt the weight of his body disappear from the bed. Her acute hearing tracked him as he made his way to the bathroom, took a shower, and then reemerged.

She kept herself just as still this time, feigning sleep as she listened to the soft rustle of his boxers being pulled on, and then when a silence fell over the room, she felt like she was holding her breath, wondering what he was going to do now, and after a pause that felt like an eternity, she could hear him moving towards the bed.

Even though she was ripping pissed at him, even though she didn't want anything to do with him right now...it still felt bereft to be sleeping on the same bed and yet so far apart from one another. It shouldn't be like this...she shouldn't care if she was sleeping next to him or in his arms.

But then he whispered an apology into the darkness of the room, and her heart constricted in her chest, and it was the biggest struggle not to roll over towards him. Her anger at him washed away, cleansed by the utter sincerity in his quiet, solemn voice.

Feeling cold and confused about them, Rouge squeezed her eyes closed even tighter, and willed herself to slip back into sleep, but it wouldn't come. As the minutes stretched by and the sound of Lukas' quiet breathing filled the room, Rouge waited until the sound evened out with sleep, then rolled over onto her back, her head tilted to gaze over at his sleeping form.

Even in the darkness, her dragon eyes let her see the lines of his face, the slight furrow that lingered between his brow. Rouge stared at him for a long time, her heart aching for a reason she could not, would not, name.

It occurred to her, in that hour during which she watched him, that his reaction tonight was significant for a reason. She vaguely remembered him mentioning a fiancee...and how she couldn't take the stress of a husband who was a marine always on the seas. Had that woman cheated on him? Was that why he'd jumped to the conclusion that if Rouge couldn't get her jollies off with Lukas, she'd look for someone else?

The thought made her heart constrict even more, and in the darkness she shifted until she could reach out a hand, and softly caress the side of his face with her fingertips, so light as to be a whisp of a touch. "Oh Lukas...what am I going to do about you...?" she asked in the lowest whisper. She sighed, rolling onto her side to face him, but not touch him, and curled up into a ball. She fell asleep watching the rise and fall of his broad chest.

 _A few days ago. Marine Headquarters._

Fleet Admiral Coby sat behind his desk, a frown on his face. In front of him stood Captain Sethe Jahzara, standing at attention, her hat in her hands behind her back and he could tell by the slight twitching in her shoulders that she was wringing the poor accessory.

For good reason too. Laid out on his desk in front of him was some paperwork that she'd brought him, found in the missing Vice Admiral Knowles desk. She'd admitted to finding the folder only days after his disappearance and admitted to keeping it in her possession until she felt confident to bring it to the attention of her superiors. And now, Coby could tell that she was nervous as shit about what the consequences of withholding this information was going to be.

He spread the papers out further on his desk and cupped his chin in his hands. This was definitely interesting. Damn that Vice Admiral. Coby had suspected something like this for some time; he never guessed that anyone else would have had the background knowledge to figure it out.

Apparently, he didn't give that young man enough credit.

Three pieces of paper were laid out in front of him. One was a wanted poster of the notorious Dragon Smuggler with her snapping blue eyes, Stetson pulled low over her face, but not enough to disguise the wicked smirk and the splash of freckles. He'd seen that same face in his dreams for years; the trauma of the Marineford War was never going to go away, no matter how many years he put between it and himself.

She was the daughter of the late Fire Fist Ace. He'd known it in his gut the moment she came on the map. And he kept that knowledge to himself because he secretly loved the irony. It was like Ace's last 'fuck you' to the world.

And now someone else had come to the same conclusion and if the information was leaked, her life was going to get infinitely more complicated and all the power and status in the world wasn't going to free her from the stigma.

The last two papers were a short slip on Portgas D. Rouge, mother of Portgas D. Ace and the last one was a frayed and yellowing wanted poster of Ace himself, with the wicked grin and freckles he'd given to his kid.

"Anyone else know about this?" he rumbled to her.

"No, sir. I kept it to myself."

He studied her hard for a minute, his Haki prickling, "There's something you aren't telling me, Captain."

More wringing of the hat, "Well, sir, shortly before he went missing, he mysteriously took the whole crew to Spa Island…"

"Mysteriously?"

"It wasn't on our track to find the Dragon."

He nodded and waved his hand to continue. "And while we were there, I happen to see the Vice Admiral and the Dragon being… friendly," she said the word like she was hedging for it, "Then she punched him in the face and took off."

"And no one's seen her since…" Coby finished, glancing down at the posters. So. Knowles and the Dragon were friendly towards each other? Interesting tactic. Then she decked him. He wondered if Knowles had said anything to her about his suspicions on her identity.

"Fleet Admiral, sir. May I ask a question?"

"You just did, but if you'd like to ask another, you are welcome."

"Sir, do you suspect that the Dragon has something to do with the Vice Admiral's disappearance?"

Coby thought carefully for a moment, "I believe that when we find the Dragon, we will find the Vice Admiral," she nodded and he continued, his voice carrying a very stern edge to it, "Do not speak of this," he indicated the paperwork on his desk, "to anyone or I will have you demoted. Are we clear, captain?"

She saluted, "Yes, sir. Crystal clear."

"You are dismissed."

 _Present Time_

It hadn't been missed by the military the movement for war in the smuggling rings. Scouts from all over were reporting in and extra reinforcements were being shipped out to Sabaody in preparation for utter chaos. Upper command wasn't taking any chances. Rumors had spread like wildfire that the Dragon Smuggler had something to do with the disappearance of the Vice Admiral. And if the Black Bull Smuggling Ring was about to rage war, then chances were high that she would show her face. And if she showed her face, well, eyes were peeled for Lukas Knowles to make an appearance.

The scout from the rager that Rouge and Lukas had attended was named Koiman Brett. He was an Ensign in the marines, but a skilled scout. One of his jobs during his station at Sabaody was to keep tabs on the movement of particular criminals he was assigned to. But when he'd entered that party and seen the Dragon Smuggler during her belly button shots, it had been too rich for him not to report it. Everyone and their mother was out looking for her, hoping to capture her for information on the missing vice admiral.

He made his report the following morning at the marine station and the call went out. Rouge the Dragon Smuggler was on Sabaody. All forces were to be sent out to patrol the streets of every grove. Her appearance meant that there was a high chance that the vice admiral would appear; whether he was here on Sabaody or not was up for debate. No one was certain how she was involved in his disappearance, if he'd been kidnapped or held hostage or what. But she was to be captured at all costs.

The sun glinted through the window of their little inn room and slanted across Lukas' face. He frowned and grabbed the covers to pull them over his face. He was still tired… the sun needed to go back to bed for a couple more hours…

But he was more awake now and he realized with a stutter of his heart that sometime in the middle of the night, him and Rouge had come together. Like their subconscious didn't want to sleep on a fight and pulled them together. He was wrapped around her like a cheap suit, his arm under her pillow, his other arm over her hip and his hand curved over her thigh and between her legs and pressed very intimately against the juncture of her legs. How he got this way without being aware of it was beyond him, but he wasn't gonna move unless she smacked him. He wondered if she was still upset with him and his slightly outlandish behavior last night.

What was he gonna do about this? About them? His heart skipped a beat at the idea that tomorrow evening they were going to infiltrate the Don's mansion, so after that… they were done. She'd take off with Niki and he'd turn himself in at the marine base. Done. Over.

God, how he didn't want that. But there was no way to get around it. A marine and a criminal couldn't be lovers of any kind. Even if he quit the marines, her life was so harrowing and of course, it's not like she could just quit being a criminal either. Besides, he wasn't going to leave the military. It was his life and blood.

Lukas shook away those thoughts and focused on the present. He snuggled in closer to her, using the hand that was curved around her leg to yank her in deeper into the curve of his body. And he begged the sun to go away and return to night.

Rouge was warm, comfortable. She couldn't remember being so comfortable and cozy in bed before, and snuggled deeper into the covers from the onslaught of the morning sunshine streaming in through the windows.

Then she became aware of why she was so cozy.

Her body was snuggled into the curve of Lukas's thighs and chest, and his arm was wrapped around her thigh, intimately close to the juncture of her legs. At first, a small smile flitted over her lips and she let out a contented sigh, but then the events of the night before returned to her.

She remembered him turning her down...and accusing her of being a whore, so to speak. She was no longer upset about what he'd accused her of because she felt confident that his fear had stemmed from his previous experience with his ex-fiancé, but he'd still turned her down when she'd been asking for sex, and while a part of her was infinitely grateful that he had, another part was still hurt. It was like she was good enough to fool around with, but that was it.

She couldn't be here, with him...not like this. Tomorrow was the mission, and today the Bull would be arriving. The last of Rouge's co-workers wouldn't be arriving until the following morning, but the Bull would probably have them spend hours going over the logistics of the assault once he got settled.

So instead of rolling over and kissing Lukas like her body wanted her to do, she rolled away after deliberately removing his hand from her thigh. Without looking at him, she headed straight for the bathroom, then closed herself in.

The shower was a blessing, and she turned it on as hot as it would go, and closed her eyes. This was for the best, really. After tomorrow, she wasn't going to be seeing the Vice Admiral again. It was probably better that he had turned her down; it made things less complicated. And they were already plenty complicated as it is, considering everything that had already transpired between them. Her chest was already heavy with regret that tomorrow was her last day with him, but she knew better than to try and think of alternatives. He was a marine, and he liked being a marine. It could never work.

After a long time, she finally shut off the water. Feeling like the steam and the heat had added a layer of armor against his handsome face and charming personality, Rouge exited the bathroom in her towel, and quickly dressed. Turning her back to him, Rouge picked up her pack and started filling it with little essentials for meeting with the bull.

"I have some errands to run. The Bull will be arriving today, and he'll want to meet you if you plan on joining us in the assault. Be at the Blue Unicorn Inn around three," Rouge didn't turn around as she spoke, but continued to secure her backpack. Her voice was slightly detached, professional. Then, without looking at him, Rouge pulled open the door, and left.

Rouge left and he felt all this awkward tension fuse through the room and embed itself in every dark corner. They woken up spooning and he was certain she was still upset with him, the way she deliberately removed his hands from her body and didn't look at him once, in fact, she purposefully kept her back to him so that she couldn't look at him. Her tone was clipped, professional and distant, a tone she'd never used with him, not even when they'd first met each other. She was much too full of sass and fire to have such a cool detachment about her.

Either she was still pissed off about his behavior yesterday and the fact that he didn't want to do her drunk in a broom closet or she was doing that 'breaking up' attitude she'd had when they first arrived at Sabaody yesterday.

Feeling like thinking about her and their predicament was going to get him no further than it had all along, Lukas rolled out of bed and pulled on some clothes. What was he going to do today? He pretty much had the whole morning and afternoon to putze around and do nothing. He hadn't been home in some time, it might be nice to go around and re-familiarize himself with the land…

As he buttoned up his shorts, he wandered over to the window and just about had a heart attack at what he saw.

Marines. Everywhere.

He jumped back from the window like it was poisonous and lunged for the hat Rouge had stolen him yesterday. Jamming it on his head, he went back to the window and opened it so he could see properly outside.

Marines. There hadn't been this many yesterday! They were stationed at both corners of the street and he was willing to bet they were stationed at every corner of every intersection in the whole archipelago. They moved about the streets in pairs. He leaned a little further out the window and… yep. He could just see the next corner from where he was and damn it, more uniforms.

He was trapped. They must know something was up. Likely, a war as big as the one he was about to assist in raging didn't get passed the scouts and upper command was putting a lock down on the whole island. He would never be able to leave. He was going to have to stay in this room all day…

No. He had to leave at some point to get over to the Blue Unicorn Inn at some point. He had a meeting with the Black Bull himself. No marine had ever seen that man's face. He couldn't possibly miss his chance.

If he could just get some sunglasses too, between those and the hat, he could be any joe-schmo on the streets. Besides, everyone still thought he was missing. They wouldn't be looking for him directly. It was more probable that they were looking for the Black Bull Smugglers, which meant that Rouge needed to be extra careful as she moved around today.

Lukas ventured out of the room and downstairs, his flip flops snapping. Outside, it was bright out and he pulled his cap lower over his eyes. Sunglasses. He needed to find a vendor and purchase some sunglasses…

Fuck! He had no money. Not a single beri to his name right now. Sure, he had loads of funds trapped in his account through the marines, but for obvious reasons, it wasn't like he could access it now…

A thought occurred to him that boiled his insides a little. He needed sunglasses. He had no money. In his mind, his ten year old self imagined simply plucking the glasses from a table in the store and walking out. He couldn't do that. He couldn't steal sunglasses. He was a vice admiral! He was at heart an upholder of the law and justice!

A soldier walked by and Lukas carefully turned his body so his face was angled away. Fucking A… he needed sunglasses.

Well. He was sleeping with a criminal, assisting criminals in their criminal behavior. Why not become one himself? Petty larceny was mild in comparison. Even the dialogue in his head sounded sarcastic and twisted. But if he wanted to move freely around town, he needed something innocuous to cover his eyes.

Half an hour later, he'd procured himself some aviators and after checking his reflection in a window, he decided he looked alright. If he kept the glasses on and flipped the cap on backwards, he even looked a few years younger. Just some slumming kid, maybe out visiting his girlfriend or something.

Girlfriend… he thought about it and as he hadn't been back in a while, he should go take his sister out or something. Go to the amusement park maybe. And she was a very affectionate girl; she'd hang all over him enough that it wouldn't be immediately obvious that they were siblings. Besides, she'd just _love_ playing it out. She'd eat that shit right up.

Lukas made his way over to his mother's house, the house he grew up in and his heart skipped a little to see that there were two young marine soldiers stationed outside his residence. Okay. Clearly, part of all the security on the island was an attempt to locate him. He took a deep breath, confident in his ability to play this out and confident in his disguise and walked right up to the front door. Instead of marching right on in, he knocked a few times and waited. The soldiers glanced at him and he knew they were studying him closely, suspicious of him.

It was his okaa-san who answered the door and god bless her, she knew exactly what he was doing. She gave him a faux-scowl, a show for the soldiers and called over her shoulder, "Gabriella!" and turned back to him, "She'll be right down."

"Sure. Whatevs, _obaasan_ ," he replied, using a very rude slang for old woman. She gave him a downright nasty look and he felt her shock that she called him that and he had to stifle the smile that threatened to give his ass away.

Angela disappeared and after a brief period in which he was certain she was debriefing Gabbi on what was happening, his sister appeared with a squeal of delight and launched herself at him and promptly kissed him all over his face.

If that didn't get the soldiers to stop looking at him, nothing was gonna. He knew that normal brother-sister relationships weren't quite like his and Gabbi's; she was uber affectionate and the age difference between them meant that he practically raised her, so their relationship was definitely skewed.

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" she gushed, "Where're we going today!?"

"Amusement park," he replied, "Yo! Obaasan! See ya!"

"Bye, mama!" Gabbi blew a kiss to their mother then linked her arm through his and started blabbering away at him about absolutely nothing until they were generally out of the ear shot of the marines, "So…" she lowered her voice, "How was your night last night?" she winked at him.

"Don't ask," he replied.

She made a face by puckering her lips, "Oooooh… you didn't get laid…"

"Bugger off, Gabbi…"

"Testy…" she pouted, "Fine! To the amusement park, then?"

"Yep. But we've got to sneak in because my funds are frozen."

She laughed, "Yay! Just like old times!"

They spent the afternoon at the amusement park, riding the roller coasters, the ferris wheel, the haunted house. He caught her up to speed on pretty much everything that happened during his affair on the deserted jungle island, brushing over most of his relationship status with Rouge, but Gabbi was sharp and she guessed most of it anyway. And she asked the one question he had been asking himself for days.

"So, onii-chan," she hedged as she swirled cotton candy around her finger, "What are you gonna do after this mission thing tomorrow night?"

"I have to go back to the marines," he replied automatically, snagging some of the pink fluff from the stick and popping it in his mouth.

She gave him a look, "You know that's not really what I'm asking about."

"I know. But my answer's the same. I have to go back to the marines."

"Have to, but don't want to."

It wasn't a question. He sighed and stole more cotton candy from her, "It's not that I don't want to. It's just… I don't know. I can't answer that."

"You love her," she stated casually.

"I do not."

Gabbi shot him a hard look, "If you didn't, then the decision wouldn't be this difficult for you to make. Plus, mama says you love her."

"I do not, I told you."

"Fine, live in denial. You'll figure it out sooner or later," she shrugged and flipped her hand at him, "Hey, it's almost three. I have to go get okaa-san and open the tavern and you've got that important meeting. Let's dump this joint, shall we?"

He grinned, "Sure. Out the same way we came in?"

She matched his smirk, "You bet!"

They snuck out of the park and through the streets of Sabaody, dodging around the marines when they could and when they couldn't, Gabbi was good for a show about fawning all over him like a girl in puppy love. He vibed from her that she was loving it up, loving fooling the marines even though it was her brother.

When it came time for them to part ways, they stopped on the sidewalk and he gave her a hard hug, "Sure you're good to walk back through the lower numbers on your own?"

She waved her hand dismissively, "No one's gonna fuck with me. If they did, they get a high heel in the jewels. Besides, everyone loves my beer," she winked, "So when are we gonna see you again?"

He shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'll have to see what happens after tomorrow night."

She gave him a sad little smile that nearly broke his heart and laid her hand on his face like their mother did to him, "You make okaa-chan worry too much. You need to be safer."

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head then glanced around, "Oh snap! Marines are watching. Gimme a kiss." She puckered up.

"What! No! I'm not kissing you!"

"Come on! Just pretend I'm two again and give your sissy a kiss."

He rolled his eyes at her and pecked her on the mouth and jumped a mile in the air when she gave his ass a squeeze, "Jeezus! Gabriella!" he hissed.

She laughed and patted his chest, "No wonder my home-girl digs you. That's a firm ass you got there, aniki," then, she walked away, her heels clicking on the sidewalk, "I had fun! Be safe!" she called back with a little wave.


	8. Chapter 8

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Rouge spent much of the morning and afternoon in the air. She didn't tell Lukas that she would be responsible for much of the intel that would be discussed with the Bull today, since she had the rare ability of flight. For hours she circled the estate that they would be storming the following evening, and took tally of the number of troops that they would be up against. It was a torturous couple of hours, knowing that Niki was below her but knowing she couldn't do anything about it. Still, the temptation to dive in and wrestle her best friend out of there was nearly overwhelming, but she knew that she could possibly do more harm than good. She needed the reinforcements of her nakama if she hoped to get Niki out of there unscathed, and also ensure that the don never lay a hand on another one of her friends.

She probably spent more time in the air than she needed to, but she told herself that it was safer, considering the drastic increase of marine presence on the island. She wasn't overly surprised about the presence of the marines; they weren't idiots, and if the rest of the underworld could tell that a war was brewing, so could they. But as she continued to circle the island, this time high enough that she drifted in and out of clouds, Rouge came to realize that she didn't want to come back down, because it meant that she was going to have to face Lukas. She was going to have to face the confusing, hopeless situation that had grown between them.

Part of her felt that she wished she'd never gotten herself involved with the marine in the first place. It had seemed like such a fun, exciting adventure at the time: lead a charming marine around in circles until she got bored. But then things spiraled out of control and now? Now...now she was afraid that she was falling for him.

And dammit, that couldn't happen! It was an impossible relationship, and it was a threat to her freedom.

But eventually, as her deadline approached, Rouge had to descend from the clouds. Moving too fast for the human eye to follow, Rouge flashed from the concealment of the clouds down to the rooftop of the Blue Unicorn, ten minutes early for the three pm deadline.

"I figured you'd make an entrance from the sky, Dragon," a soft voice murmured from behind her.

Rouge whirled, her hands instantly coming up into a defensive position, and found herself face to face with the Bull, barely three feet from her. He'd appeared out of nowhere, standing calmly with his hands behind his back and a pleasant smile on his face. Contrary to what many believed the Bull must look like, Roary Ducomp stood no taller than Rouge did, and featured a slight build that belied the immense strength he was capable of. His nickname wasn't indicative of his appearance at all, in fact, but rather mirrored his nasty temper, great stubbornness and unwillingness to give up, and the way he fought: bare fisted and single-minded.

None of these attributes, however, were obvious by looking at him, which is why no one save the Twelve members of the Inner Circle, knew who he actually was. His eyes were so dark they appeared to be black, and his light brown hair fell over his brow in soft waves. His mouth was full, soft, and vulnerable looking, but when his temper snapped, his laid-back features transformed him into a raging demon.

"Roary!" Rouge exclaimed with a laugh, all of her previous heavy thoughts wiped from her mind as she threw herself forward and pulled her boss into a tight hug. While everyone one of the Inner Circle feared the Bull's temper, they also loved him fiercely and considered him a friend above being their boss.

Roary let out a chuckle, and wrapped his arms around her in a brief embrace before grabbing her shoulders and holding her back at arms length to pin her with a severe expression. "It's good to see you too, Rouge. I've been worried about you...You haven't been yourself lately, from what I've heard."

Rouge's eyes flickered away for only a second, but she pulled up a smile and shrugged her shoulders in a feeble attempt to dislodge his grip and avoid the topic. "It's just been a long couple of weeks."

The Bull was quiet for a moment, studying her with his eyes that saw all. He was only a couple of years older than herself, but he was wise beyond his years, another reason why he sat on top of the smuggling world. "That marine is getting to you, isn't he? I hear you brought him..." Roary's brows furrowed, and his expression darkened threateningly.

Rouge held up both of her hands and shook her head. "I didn't have a choice, Roar...he was going to follow anyways. I couldn't just leave him there with even the slightest chance that I wasn't coming back."

"This is highly unlike you," Roary continued, releasing her shoulders now to cross his arms over his chest. "He could be a risk to this expedition. You would trust Niki's life to him?"

Rouge fell silent, eyes locked with the Bull, and felt like her soul was being dug through. Roary studied her as she struggled to come up with an answer to that. She hadn't considered it quite like he put it, and she was momentarily at a loss for words. Was she really risking Niki's life by letting Lukas get involved?

Lukas' face flashed in her mind, and the way he was with his sister, his mother, came to the forefront of her thoughts. The rational part of her told her that she was risking her best friend's life with a man she'd met mere months ago, but the gut, her instinct, screamed otherwise. Rouge drew in a deep breath then let it out. "I can't tell you why, or how, I know...but I feel it in my gut that Lukas would only be an asset to this mission," she spoke with utmost conviction, her gaze steady.

Roary studied her for a moment, his dark eyes probing even deeper into her soul. Like Lukas' mother, Roary also had the Color of Observation, and could read people's true intentions. Finally, he lifted a hand and gently brushed a loose strand back from her face. "Oh little Rouge...I can see that you are in a very confusing place right now. I don't know what the circumstances are, but believe me when I say that I have faith that things will work out." His words were spoken softly, but with a hardness behind them that demanded her full attention, a skill of his that made him a born leader. "As for this marine of yours...I will trust you. But the moment he puts my people in danger," Roary's gentle eyes suddenly hardened and glittered like black eyes. "I will personally take care of the matter."

Rouge shivered at the deadly intent behind those black eyes, and nodded her head. "Yes sir," she answered.

Roary's serious expression dissolved away into a calm smile. "Good! Now, come. Everyone is waiting for us. Jackson and Rex won't be able to get here till tomorrow, but they will be debriefed while the rest of us out setting up the preparations for the assault."

Fifteen minutes later, Rouge found herself in the largest room of the inn surrounded by the members of the Inner Circle. Though Rouge worked alone, many of the Circle were generals, of sorts, to the other, lower ranking smugglers within the organization, and those members would be responsible for relaying the orders to their respective 'grunts' for the assault the following evening. Only two people were still missing to begin the meeting: Pixie, the small female smuggler who was notoriously late to everything, and Lukas.

Dave and Fillipe, the Bull's two personal guards who were more like personal assistants considering the Bull didn't needed much protecting, were waiting downstairs to lead them to the meeting. Though she was surrounded by friends that she hadn't seen in weeks or months, Rouge found her attention divided between socializing and watching the door for the sight of a tall broad marine with startling green eyes. She knew that Roary was waiting for him too, and knew that she wouldn't be able to say anything to Lukas before the Bull made his introduction and did his assessment of the man.

Moving through the streets proved to be rather difficult with all the marines meandering about and Lukas wasn't up for taking any chances. He'd made it this far without having to turn himself in and he made a promise to Rouge that he would help her free her friend Niki. Getting caught by his own organization would severely jeopardize his ability to keep said promise.

So, the result of his careful plodding across the archipelago made him solidly late for this meeting. Part of him was aggravated at his lack of punctuality and the other part of him hosted a devil-may-care attitude towards it. So what if he was late? Their ability to host a strategic meeting depended very little on his attendance and frankly, he didn't think that he was going to be very well received, if his first meeting with Leon, Kugo and the behemoth Teddy were any indication. Despite the fiery chemistry him and Rouge had, typically criminals and marines mixed as well as oil and water did.

That is to say, not well at all.

Lukas pushed open the doors to the Blue Unicorn Inn, not taking his sunglasses off just in case. As soon as he walked in, two dudes bigger than he was walked up to him. He immediately tensed, and one of them asked in a rumbling tone, "Lukas?"

He peered over his shades, "Depends on who's asking…" he replied.

"The Bull is waiting."

He nodded, "Then I'm your man."

One guard stayed upstairs while the one who spoke led Lukas down a pair of stairs and opened another door. It was a huge conference room with a large round table right in the center. All eyes turned right to him and casually and calmly, he removed his sunglasses from his face. He recognized about half of the crowd and that was the half that didn't give him a downright sneer upon his entrance. Again, he didn't expect to be well received.

"Vice Admiral, it's a surprising pleasure to finally meet you in person. Our Dragon has told us so much about you already."

A man came forward and immediately, Lukas felt his whole body go on guard involuntarily. The man wasn't very large and sported a lean figure dressed in a casual three-piece suit, but something about him screamed powerful.

"Roary Ducomp," the man held out his hand to Lukas, "or as the general public likes to call me, the Black Bull."

Lukas shook his hand and couldn't help the smile that formed over his lips, "Nice to put a face to the name," he replied, "Though, I have to say, I was definitely expecting something different."

A few people growled in the background, but the Bull just laughed, "Yes, the name does present a certain... stereotypical physique with it, but I find that despite that, it suits me well."

"I can tell," Lukas said. He felt a tingle at the prolonged contact of the handshake and cut the touch short. He knew instantly; the Bull had Observation Haki and was reading him like a book. Lukas let him, opening up his emotional grid a little. It was probably in his best interest to let the head honcho of the world's most notorious smuggling ring get a good feel on him.

The Bull's face lit up a little, "Oh! A fellow Haki user! I should have expected as much from a Vice Admiral. Tell me, what is your first impression of me?"

He wanted to feel like he was being baited into a trap, but that wasn't what he was vibing from the guy. Just an honest question, "Calmness," he replied, "But past that there's a heavy stubbornness, anger at what has happened to Niki and a fierce pride and loyalty to protect your nakama."

The Bull smiled and this time, there was a distinct change in his eyes, the gentle blackness fading to a hardness; a thinly veiled threat, "And don't you forget it, my boy. I protect my own."

Lukas' eyes flickered involuntarily to Rouge and he got the hint crystal clear. The Bull knew the confusion and tenseness between them and was giving him a clear warning: mess her up and he was gonna mess up Lukas. Oh, and don't shoot his nakama during the mission.

Suddenly, the door burst open, "Omigod! Sorry! I'm always so late! Roary, I'm so sorry!"

As fast as it came, the Bull's stern expression faded to delight, "Pixie! So glad you could make it!"

Lukas turned and cocked a brow at the little girl who entered the room wearing cropped jeans, a tank top and a messenger bag swinging across her body. She looked no older than 15 or 16 years old, if that! And she probably only came up to Lukas' sternum. Soaking wet, she couldn't tip the scale at 90 pounds.

"She's a smuggler?" the words came out before he could censor them, "Shouldn't she be in school? Shouldn't you be in school?" he turned his question to her and she cocked her head at him.

"Umm, no. I'm a smuggler, not a student, duh," she replied, "You're pretty dumb for a Vice Admiral." She laughed in a little twinkling noise and moved to an open seat.

"Well, everyone's here now," the Bull said and Lukas, a little flabbergasted by that little wisp of a girl, moved to the open seat next to Rouge and plopped his sandaled feet on the table and tipped his chair back on two legs, "Let's get this meeting started, shall we?"

Rouge's eyes tracked Lukas from the moment he entered the room to the moment he sat down next to her, and then her eyes flitted away like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She'd been concerned, when he'd been late, that maybe he hadn't been able to navigate the island due to the increase of marine presence, or that maybe he had turned himself in, but those worries washed away now, replaced by a confidence, a sure knowing, that Lukas was actually going to go through with this mission.

For the first time in her life, she found herself wishing that her circumstances were different. That her lifestyle would allow them to be together. But that thought was so horribly absurd, especially because she _loved_ her life, that she hurried pushed it away and re-focused her attention on Roary, who was giving the introductory speech and bringing everyone into the loop regarding what had happened, what they intended to do about it, and who would be a part of that. All eyes shifted to Lukas when Roary turned the attention to him, and the words spoken were both warning to everyone that the Bull himself was putting his trust in the man and so he was not to be questioned or harassed, but they were also a subtle warning to Lukas too. A warning of who came first when it came down to picking between Lukas and the Inner Circle should anything unfortunate or unexpected occur.

Then...he turned it over to Rouge.

No one in the room was surprised except perhaps Lukas. She'd long been responsible for gathering intel for big missions and jobs alike. Standing up, she planted her hands heavily on the table and swung her gaze from each one of her nakama to the next. Then she began the unpleasant task of informing everyone that the numbers she'd counted, as well as the Big Headers (the nickname for those with high bounties that might pose a greater problem) was higher than they'd anticipated.

"It seems that the Don used his wealth to pull in an extra two hundred men within the last three days, most of them foot soldiers except for Guy the Exploder and his wife Nini the Cat."

All those in the room were familiar with the pair of guns for hire that travelled the ocean from conflict to conflict, siding with whoever paid them the most. Guy was a genius with explosives, and his wife Nini had eaten the neko neko no mi, model: cougar.

"In addition to this..." Rouge continued, her grave expression shifting from face to face. "Mario has been busy absorbing two more of the smaller tiered smuggling rings, and has brought Shinn of the Wind, Vinny Sharpshot, and Tyler the Wolf into the fold." She listed off three powerful smugglers who worked for much smaller rival factions: a martial arts master that had gone rogue from the Master of the Hand and Foot school several years ago, a literal gun for hire who specialized in bazookas, contrary to his name, and a smuggler who'd eaten the weasel weasel fruit, model: wolverine.

There were a few more names of merit that she brought up, and while the tension in the room went up, it was only a slight increase. Her nakama were confident in their abilities, and while they had much fewer numbers, that had always been the case with their organization. The Bull was renown for having very few 'footsoldiers' to his name, as he preferred to rely on his Inner Circle. Normally, Rouge would have been one of the ones to brush off these increased numbers with a scoff and a laugh, but now, all she could think of was Niki, and her face remained grim. She glanced over at the Bull, and though his expression was calm and a small smile played over the corner of his lips as he watched his nakama boast about their skills and how inferior the enemies' were, she could see a mirroring grimness in his own midnight eyes. She could tell that he hated putting his people in this position, but recognized that it was necessary.

Once Rouge finished relaying the information she'd gathered, Leon stepped up next. He had a skill in organizing attacks, a gift he took with him from his old assassin days, where planning was everything. He explained that the attack would be three fold. A first group would make a direct assault, followed by a second assault to the flank of the estate. These two groups would be mostly as a diversion for the third assault that would consist mainly of Rouge, Teddy, and Pixie, who would enter by air using Rouge's ability. Their mission was to find Niki and get her out, asap. Following Niki's release, they were to rejoin the fray until both Lawash Brothers and the Don were either dead or in the Bull's capable, justice-wielding hands. Lukas consisted of a fourth group that was him alone. He would be dropped off at the top of one of the two guard towers that flank the main gate, and from there he would be responsible for sniping.

Rouge glanced at Lukas, slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to be seeing him in action, but then he would have their back. He was just as important as those on the front lines, and he could be even more pivotal to ensuring that Niki was taken out of there without harm.

Lukas leaned back and to the whole of the group in the meeting, he was the epitome of relaxed. His head was leaned back, his hands linked behind the nape of his neck and his hat pulled low over his eyes. He could have been sleeping, for all anyone cared.

But he was alert and listening and through the thin line of vision that he had, his eyes bounced to each person as they spoke, taking them in, learning names, faces, body build. His Haki was pricked and primed to catch the emotions and feel of each person and of the room in general.

Tension was high but so was confidence as he listened to Rouge lay out what she had observed during her scout of the property today and a spike of adrenaline shot through him. He couldn't pin down the emotion as pure panic or desperation or fear really, just a rush of his adrenal gland. Twelve people, no, thirteen if he counted the Bull, against over two hundred soldiers? The challenge was thrilling but he wasn't so naïve to think that their little group, while sufficiently skilled he would allow, was going to walk away without any causalities. Rouge had reported some serious heavy hitters in the seedy underworld.

He glanced sideways to study her profile. So attuned to her now as he was, part of his own adrenaline spike was simply feeding off her own nerves. There was no denying the fact that while everyone else seemed fairly confident, she was a little jumpy on the inside. He assumed it was about Niki and their ability to get her out safe and sound. The other part of his rush was… well. He wasn't terrified about his own life – he wouldn't be a very good marine if he was. But he knew how desperate Rouge was to get her best friend out and he wouldn't put it passed her to do something crazy reckless and trade her own safety for Niki's.

He'd lose his shit if she died. He didn't give two fucks about the other people in this room; he was sniping for her and should shit hit the fan for her, he had no qualms about abandoning his post to ensure that she was safe.

This mission was going to be deadly. He could feel it in his bones. Peeps who were sitting at this table, right now, weren't gonna be going home tomorrow night.

"Make sure that your people are there to back you up. Our numbers are much smaller, and we only boast about 50 or so footsoldiers, but we are a stronger, more connected team and we can pull this off if we all keep our heads on straight," Leon finished his speech of sorts, then took his seat again. As one, all Twelve of the Inner Circle and Roary made a fist with their right hand and extended it towards the center of the room in a silent show of solidarity. This was how all of their meetings concluded, a salute to their organization of sorts.

For the rest of the time they were there, smaller strategies and cooperative battle was planned among the groups that would be working together. Rouge was part of all of the discussions because she had the intel on the groundwork of the estate as well as which guards and how many were posted where. Lukas was pulled into the discussion so that he would be aware of how everyone fought in order to keep from getting accidentally targeting by him should they do something wildly unexpected, which was exactly the sort of thing they were all known for.

Then Roary bought them all dinner and drinks were passed around, significantly lightening the atmosphere. This lasted well into the evening, until Walter, the oldest one of the Inner Circle, fell asleep in his beer. Knowing that they had a big day tomorrow, her friends started departing, and Rouge didn't linger either.

She and Lukas were heading to the door when Roary appeared before them, and asked to speak to Lukas alone. Rouge wasn't overly surprised, since he was about to trust the life and health of his closest friends to a man he'd just met who had previously been their enemy. Rouge told them she'd be waiting upstairs, and disappeared up the steps.

Roary's eyes focused squarely on Lukas', and his face, which had been calm and smiling for most of the evening, turned grim. "You are probably expecting me to warn you once more about how important these friends are to me, and how your life would be infinitely better if they all came out of this alive, but I wish to speak to you about another matter..." his soft, commanding voice trailed off for a moment, and his gaze flickered up to the ceiling, where he could feel Rouge waiting for Lukas. When he looked back at Lukas, his eyes were dead serious.

"I know that things between you two are very complicated, and also none of my business, but you have my Dragon wound up so tightly that she's as fragile as glass right now, despite her tough demeanor. I also know that a significant part of that is her worry for Niki, but I have a favor to ask you. I understand that it will likely only make things more confusing and difficult in the end, but for right now, I cannot allow my girl to go into battle like that. She is far too tense, far too close to losing her cool, and that can be dangerous." Roary paused, letting his words sink in. "Please, do what you can between now and tomorrow's battle to help her relax and loosen up, and give her back the hope that she's lost sight of." Roary knew he was asking a lot of this man that he'd just met, especially considering how twisted up he was about Rouge, but if she went in to battle this tense and with such heavy matters on her mind, she was bound to make mistakes, and he'd rather his Dragon deal with a broken heart than be dead herself. He knew, in his soul, that this man before him had the power to change that, and to give her the will to fight with all of her might.

Upstairs, Rouge was pacing back and forth in front of Dave and Fillipe, blatantly ignoring their frowns and glances. She knew she wasn't acting like herself, but she couldn't seem to pull up her normal sass when her thoughts were so heavy with worry and...Lukas.

Her eyes flickered to the door of the basement, and suddenly, Rouge couldn't wait any more. She recognized that she was running away, and she was never one to turn tail, but she didn't know how to face Lukas right now. She didn't know what to say to him when he came upstairs and she'd be expected to...interact. To talk to him, to walk back to the inn together. That all seemed much too much for her to handle after the fuck-ups from last night. She knew she was acting strange and he wasn't going to ignore it, because that's the kind of guy he was.

No, she just needed to get this mission over with, and maybe then she could focus on what the hell she was going to do about Lukas once she was no longer worrying about Niki.

"Tell him I went back," Rouge told the two men watching her, and lifted her hand in a farewell gesture before she turned her back and all but fled out the front door. Concealed in shadows, Rouge hurried around the side of the building, then took to the air. Free of having to deal with the damned marines standing at every corner, Rouge headed back to her room. There, she would crawl into bed and feign sleep once more.

After all the yadda-yadda-yadda in the beginning of the meeting, things got more interesting as the crew broke up into groups. Being in a group of his own, Lukas was instructed and encouraged to filter between the factions and get to 'know' everyone, that is, the Bull wanted him to get reads on people with his Haki as well as find out their fighting styles. He knew quite a bit about each of the members of the Circle to begin with, what with his last mission in the marines to catch one, but it was so different talking to them as equals rather than as enemies and by the time dinner and drinks were passed around, most of them had warmed up to the idea of him, at the very least.

Also, after a quick conversation with Leon, Lukas was informed that each of the Circle – minus Rouge – would be wearing a unique heat sensor on them which would glow blue in heat vision or night goggles, of which Lukas had both. Rouge was the exception because her devil fruit gave her such a hot body temp that she typically showed up bright white in all those goggle things. There was no way he could possibly accidentally shoot any of the Bull's peeps unless he was a complete dolt.

When Walter, an older man probably in his late fifties, literally fell asleep with his head on the table and his beer still fisted in his hand, the Bull announced it a night. They had a big day tomorrow and as soon as dusk fell, all hell was going to break loose.

He and Rouge were the last ones tailing out when the Bull himself laid a hand on Lukas' shoulder and asked to speak with him privately. He exchanged a look with Rouge and she said she'd wait upstairs. As soon as the door closed, Roary got started on his soliloquy.

And it was everything Lukas could do to not burst into flames of shame and embarrassment right on the spot. Not one to get particularly awkward about anything because his sometimes arrogant self-vision of himself, it wasn't one bit comfortable for the Bull to be telling him to do "whatever he could between now and tomorrow" to basically de-stress the Dragon and make sure she had her head in the game.

And the way he phrased it "I know things between you are complicated…" and how did he say it? Oh right, "I understand that it will likely make things more confusing and difficult in the end…"

This guy wanted him to fuck her. Seriously. Sex her so that she was cool and collected and not so strung out.

"I'll see what I can do," Lukas replied gruffly, "She'll be fine regardless tomorrow."

The Bull nodded, "Thank you. You understand that I can't let her see battle how she currently is now."

"No, no, I feel you. I understand that." He bid the Bull a good night and headed upstairs. He knew that she was gone and the bouncers confirmed that she'd gone back to the inn ahead of him. That was good. He definitely was grateful to be walking back alone so he could have some time to process everything that had just gone down. He pulled his hat low and pushed his way out of the Blue Unicorn, the crisp, fresh night air a soothing balm in his nose and throat. It felt like he was washing away some of the fuzzies and he could have a clearer head to think.

Not that there was much to think about really. Anything thinking that involved Rouge was just gonna put him back where he started; it didn't matter what they did or how they felt. The end result was the same: he was going back to the marines in 48 hours and she would go back to her outlawing ways and neither of them would see each other again. It didn't matter how much he hated that idea, how much he thought he cared about her or how she felt or how confusing it all was. They couldn't be together, even if they wanted to. Ever. They were the quintessential Romeo and Juliet. A sad, tragic love story if there ever was one.

And deep in a place he wasn't ready to admit yet, he knew that he was ruined for the rest of his life because of her. She was gonna be a tough act to follow for sure. Other women weren't ever going to compare to the fire that she was.

So why not have everything he could out of her tonight? More likely than not, this was going to be their last real night together. If they did manage to make it back to the inn tomorrow night, pending neither of them died on this mission, it was going to be to lick wounds and patch up. So it was now or never.

Feeling itchy on the inside as his mind now tumbled through what kinda experience it would be to have sex with her, he quickened his pace and expertly dodged patrolling uniforms until he opened the door the inn. No one paid attention to him as he hunkered up the stairs and entered the bedroom he shared with Rouge.

There she was, lying in the bed and he knew this time that she was feigning sleep with the covers pulled right up over her head. No way she actually hit the z's that fast. He was probably only ten or fifteen minutes behind her. But the fact that she was evening faking it translated to him that she was probably still tweaked about last night. Between the denial and his attitude, they had definitely hit an awkward patch between them.

Again, he wasn't one particularly prone to awkwardness so he kicked off his flips and tossed his hat on the post of the footrest. Then, he pulled the covers back and crawled, fully clothed, right into the bed until he was right up next to her and yanked the covers back over him. He tucked his body half over her, half around her and angled his face so he could kiss her neck, right below her ear.

"You aren't really sleeping yet…" he rumbled with a smirk.

The sound of his footsteps vibrated up from the floor, through the bed, and into the mattress that she lay curled up on. Though she feigned sleep, every one of her senses was tuned and trained on him as he approached the bed. Her body tensed when the bed dipped as he put his weight down on it, and waited for him to stretch out on his side.

Instead, he kept going until his body was pressed intimately up against hers, and her heart almost flipped out of her chest. He had no intention of letting her ignore him again tonight, she realized. Part of her was jubilant with excitement, eager for the brush of his lips, the slide of his fingers over her flesh. Another part of her shrank away in fear of the increased complications such an encounter would produce. Considering she was likely not going to be seeing him again after tomorrow night, she'd hoped to keep herself distant until then, soften the blow, so to speak, when she had to sleep alone once more.

Funny, it had never bothered her before to sleep alone.

His lips were insistent, and his rumbled words both drove shivers of heat down her spine and raised her hackles in temper. She was mad that he was forcing her hand. Mad that he was going to make this even harder on her. Didn't he care?

She shrugged her shoulders sharply to dislodge his hold and turned her head to pin him with snapping blue eyes. "Do you fall asleep the moment you lay down? I don't think so. If you'd just leave me be, I'm sure I'll be sleeping as sound as a baby in no time."

She turned her face away from him again, remaining stiff under his touch as she stonily closed her eyes. "Besides, you had your chance last night and you clearly weren't interested. Just because I've been less than friendly today, you suddenly want me? It doesn't work that way, Lukas. Now leave me alone, I'm tired and I need my sleep to prepare for tomorrow." It pained her to push him away when a part of her desperately wanted him, but she knew this was for the best.

Her snarky attitude and attempt to brush him away did nothing to sway him. If anything, it was more encouraging because he wanted to dissuade that distant, cold part of her and give way for that fiery, passionate part of her. She wasn't a cold person; he knew she had to be working overload to put up this façade. She was passionate and heated about everything she did. From business to pleasure and back again.

"There will be no sleep happening in this bed tonight," he told her, "Or anywhere in this room for that matter," then, he grabbed both her arms and flipped her onto her back forcefully and he planted his knees into the mattress on either side of her hips, keeping her trapped between him and the sheets, "Listen and listen good. Lookit me," he released one of her hands and grabbed her chin with his hand to turn her face up to his, "I never said I wasn't interest or didn't want you. I said I wasn't gonna fuck you in a dirty broom closet. You're too good for that and I wasn't gonna degrade whatever strange relationship we have to a cheap drunk fuck."

He gave her a kiss, a hot one, a heated one, staking claim on her lips and stirring heat through him, "Now," he pulled back, "As I see it, you got two choices here. You can continue putting forth the effort being a cold bitch and be utterly distracted and stressed out when it comes to saving Niki tomorrow. Or, you can get naked and sweaty with me all night tonight, relieve a little stress and be hot, fiery and passionate during the fight tomorrow and kill loads of baddies. I know that sassy Rouge is in there somewhere," he dragged his mouth over her throat, "I like her much better and she's got her head in the game."

Rouge stared up at him with wide eyes, shocked by his words and his actions. She was utterly flabbergasted by his fierce reasoning, and despite her previous intentions, she could feel her defenses crumbling away with each brush of his lips over her suddenly scorching skin. A thousand retorts rose to her mind, a million reasons why this was a terrible idea.

But for some reason, she just couldn't get them out of her mouth.

And the part that hit her the hardest? The part that made her go utterly still beneath him from the barrage of emotions it created in her? When he said he hadn't denied her because he hadn't wanted her...he'd denied her because he thought she deserved better. It meant...that he cared.

"Lukas..." she croaked, a bite of resistance in her tone, her voice cracking slightly as a swell of emotion threatened to overwhelm her. It hit her, then, that she could very well be in love with him, and he was giving her this chance to be with him, truly be with him, before their lives were torn apart and sent in opposite directions. Was she really gonna be a coward and brush him off when what he was saying made so much illogical sense to her?

His lips were traveling even lower over her neck, and even though her mind was a jumble of thoughts and emotions, her body was right on track and burning up under his assault. Her eyes flickered over him, over the broad expanse of his shoulders, and her lust ratcheted up another notch just from the sight of his massive body poised over her, pinning her. The last of her resistance fell away, and she snapped.

All of the lust, all of the passion that she'd felt towards him but had curbed in the past few days roared to the surface, and Rouge let it take her. "Fine. You want my passion? You better be able to handle it then," her voice was a hot, husky growl as Rouge surged up, using her weight and the momentum to turn the tables on him and flip them over once again until she was on top and straddling his lean hips.

"Then you're mine," she hissed, her eyes glowing a faint blue as she reaching down and ripped his shirt open with the smallest effort. "And I won't hold back, so you better bring your game, marine." A smirk played over the edges of her lips as she leaned her head down and swirled her tongue over his flat nipple, one hand pinned to the bed next to his head and the other trailing down the ridges of his abs towards the fastening of his pants.

He didn't miss the moment of hesitation about her as she completely stilled underneath him and did that thing with her eyes as she bounced them back and forth between his. He could understand exactly where she was coming from. How much harder was it gonna be to go back to real life after such an intimate experience? They both knew this was way more complicated than a one night stand. This wasn't something they could just pick up in the morning and walk away from with a "thanks for a great night".

He felt like he could be prepared for that; he'd take the confusion and the heartbreak if it meant he could have this one night with her.

She melted into him and the rush of excitement went through him. Her easy demonstration of strength made him laugh a little huskily as she flipped him over and ripped his shirt right down the middle.

"I always bring my game," he replied and she dropped her head down to run her mouth over him.

His hands wasted no time as he yanked the tank top she was sleeping in up and over her torso and arms. He shrugged out of the torn up the t-shirt and tossed it to the floor and his hands traced over her body, committing to memory the curves and dips of her hips, stomach and breasts. He leaned up and sucked one right into his mouth, his tongue swirling over the bud.

He didn't know how he was going to stand to wait to be inside her. It was everything he could do to not flip her sweet ass back over, get naked and get inside her. It warred with his idea of wanting this to last all night. He had to take this in steps, really string her out, make her beg for it.

Lukas flipped them back over, his weight superior to hers, "You owe me from last night," he growled, "I was so looking forward to a blow job before you peaced out on me," he dragged her little panties down her legs until he ditched those too and she was gloriously naked, tangled in the sheets.

He was going to hell in a hand-basket.

He sealed his mouth over her breast again and his hand cupped the juncture of her thighs, his fingers sliding over her folds. She was wet and hot for him already.

Rouge gasped, her hips hitching up and her eyes sliding back into her head. "If you're a gentleman you'd know that you can never _ask_ for a blowjob...they're gifts from me to you." She smirked, finding her words extremely difficult to form when he was ouching her like that. Her voice was breathless, almost ragged as she squirmed under him, so turned on she could barely stay still. Her hands shot up to slide her fingers through his hair and encourage him as he suckled at her breast.

She rolled her hips, urged them against his hand, and rubbed herself against him suggestively as lust and arousal pounded through her system until she was almost dizzy with it. Before, she'd known they weren't going to take things all the way because she wouldn't have let it, but now that she knew what was coming, she was so much more turned on.

One of her hands abandoned his hair and slid down his back, scoring his flesh lightly with her sharp fingernails. Her other hand slid down his chest, then lower still, urging him closer to her by grabbing on to the hem of his pants and tugging at them. Eventually she got the fastening free, and slid her hand right in between his flat abdomen and his pants.

Her fingers brushed over the coarse curls nestled close to his cock before she wrapped her fingers around the thick length of him. He was hard and twitching with excitement, only sending more jolts of pleasure up Rouge's spine.

"I want you inside me," Rouge whispered hoarsely, pumping her fist up and down the hard length of him with varying degrees of tightness for an even more intense experience. She writhed below him, eager and antsy to feel him inside him. "I don't give a damn about taking our time, I've waited long enough for this," her words were practically a growl, her eyes flashing under the dark strands of her mussed hair.

He laughed, the sound reverberating against her skin, "I never said I was a gentleman," he replied, pegging her with a wolfish grin.

Her fingernails, dull in comparison to her claws, scored down his back and chest and regardless of lethality, the sensation still brought goosebumps over his skin. He busied his mouth with the other breast, teasing it to attention while she worked the button/fly of his shorts. As soon as she had them loose enough, she crawled right inside them and fisted his cock, tight enough that it almost hurt, but felt so good. She pumped her fist and writhed against him, her body playing the floaty-dance with his; she'd shift just right and her stomach would brush against his or she'd grind her hips up. The contact was fleeting and nerve-wracking.

"Alright! You win," he growled, his patience snapping, his breath coming fast enough that he panted a little. She was right; how many times had he thought about how _easy_ it would have been for them to just fuck and get it over with? Every time they fooled around and clothes came off, it seemed. At so many points, it could have happened. There had been enough tension, enough heat…

Now wasn't really the time to be dicking around, pun not intended. Besides, he knew his limit. He was a god-damned machine when it came to sex, no arrogance, simply fact. He had hours in him on a good day but with her, this inferno between them could easily last days.

Lukas rolled off her and off the side of the bed. His shorts literally dropped from his hips without the button holding them up and hit the floor with a soft _thump_. He kicked them aside, grabbed her by her ankles and yanked her over to him until her knees were cocked up and her feet were braced against the edge. He leaned forward and gave her a hot kiss, melding their mouths together so it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Their bodies brushed; chest and breast, stomach to stomach and he rubbed the head of his throbbing cock against her smooth, wet sex.

Heaven and hell were about to collide and the anticipation was amping him up.

"I'm gonna fuck you senseless," he rumbled, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke, "All night and first, I'm gonna do you as the Dragon," he slid into her and his breath came in a stuttered gasp against her mouth, "So shift and dig your claws into me…" he sank into her slowly, inch by devastatingly hot inch…

Rouge grinned savagely, her eyes glowing blue with excitement and all-consuming lust. All of her worries, all of the heavy thoughts she'd been carrying around lately were washed away by the fire racing through her blood. In an instant, she shifted, and dainty, deadly horns curled back from where her brow met her luscious hair. Her fangs extended, her claws emerged from the tips of her fingers. Beneath them, her long, agile tail draped over the edge of the bed, the very tip lashing from side to side on the floor as he filled her deeper.

"You have such interesting fantasies, marine," she teased, arching her back and thrusting her hips up until his hard length was filling her to the hilt. A moan exploded from her moist lips, the sound curling around his mouth as theirs lips danced with each other through their stuttered panting.

Her hands lashed out, one going to his hip to urge him on, the other snaking over his shoulders and digging in deep as she used him for leverage to grind her body up against his in a slow, agonizing fashion that made her toes curl from the sweet friction between their two bodies.

It had been a while since she'd last gotten laid, so she was hot and tight for him, almost painfully so, but she was so thoroughly turned on and wet that it didn't matter. As she ground her hips against his, she could feel his cock being squeezed and milked in a slick grip.

She groaned again, then let out a hiss of satisfaction as she lifted her legs and wrapped them tightly around his waist, her heels digging in to his hard ass and driving him just a little deeper. "And I'm going to fuck _you_ so hard your dick's gonna weep," she promised in a husky whisper, followed by a dark chuckle as she tossed her head back and arched her back, pressing her breasts against his chest.

The shift was so sexy, skin flipping like thousands of coins to reveal her blue black scales. He wasn't sure where he'd developed the fetish to want to do her in such a deadly form, but there was just something so arousing about how dangerous she was that really flipped his switches. Slightly scary, potentially deadly… totally sexy. He equated it to the feeling of petting a wild animal. You really wanted to see how soft that tiger was… so you took the risk of sticking your hand out there to caress its fur even as your nerves jangled and your adrenal gland worked over time and your body remained tensed for flight. Coupled with how sassy and sexy she was, the whole package was enough to make him a little weak at the knees.

Her claws scratched against his skin and the goosebumps that erupted all over his flesh was the prelude to the hiss of painful pleasure as she dug them into his hip and shoulder respectively, hooking in deep enough that it hurt but at the same time as she ground her hips against his and clinched her legs around him. It felt incredible to get that inch closer to her.

Lukas gripped her hips, reveling in the silky smooth softness of the scales that were also capable of stopping a bullet. His hips created an even, deep rhythm and it was only the combination of his hands pinning her down and his feet anchored to the floor that kept her from being fucked right across the bed and off the other side, "It's your fault," he laughed, the sound compromised by his breathlessness, "You took me as your prisoner slash sex slave and now I can't help but think of all the ways your could torture me and fuck me at the same time…"

He pried her hand from its hold on his hip and as he sucked two of her fingers into his mouth, he felt little thin trickles of blood tickle down his flank. He secretly wanted the sheets to be mixed with blood and sweat. He wanted the scars as a forever reminder of the kind of lover she was.

He guided her hand down between their bodies to where his cock was filling her and coerced her to touch herself – not that she needed much encouragement.

"Lucky me…" he rumbled, leaning his body back a little, "I get to watch…"

Her eyes danced with hot amusement as he urged her fingers down between them. It always struck her how focused he was on bringing her pleasure before taking it for himself. Many of her lovers had been eager to please, but none so demanding and insistent as he. It did more than turn her on; it brought warmth to her chest in a way that was oddly intimate, more intimate than she'd ever felt with anyone, despite the fact that this was their first time having sex.

Instead of doing as he directed, Rouge took it a step further. She slid her hand down over her wet folds until she could wrap her thumb and forefinger around the base of his shaft, providing an extra layer of friction for him as he pumped in and out of her body. Being able to feel him entering her ratcheted up her arousal another level, and she let out hiss of approval, rolling her hips under him to squeeze him tighter.

To make sure he didn't complain, however, she ground the heel of her hand against her clit, working both of them up simultaneously. The effect had her breath stuttering out of her as pleasure roared through her body like an unstoppable storm. "I hope you're enjoying the show, because I am," she ground out, her voice deepened from lust. Her eyes were latched to him, drinking in the sight of his bear chest heaving above her, dotted with sweat and drops of blood from where she'd scored him with her claws. His eyes had deepened to a forest green, and his face was flushed and severe with need. His strong jaw was clenched, along with the muscles of his neck and shoulders. The sight of his powerful form, pumping in and out of her body, sent a shiver of delight down her spine.

If this lasted much longer, _she_ wasn't going to last.

Her lips hitched up in a sudden smirk, and used her increased power as leverage as she sat up swiftly, using her free hand on his shoulders to push him back. One of her feet slid down, lightning fast, to hook him behind his knee. Within seconds, she'd flipped them, using her power to shove him down on the ground behind him and straddle his hips. Their bodies remained joined the whole time, but now she was looming over him, her thick curls falling in cascades around her face as she pinned him down with one clawed hand against his chest. She released his cock, repositioning her hand behind her until she could cup his balls and tug on them none too gently. It wouldn't be enough to hurt, but it was enough to pull him back from the edge, giving her more time to play with him. Simultaneously, she ground her hips down on his, taking him even deeper into her. "My turn to have a little fun," she whispered to him with a wicked grin, leaning her head down to nip his lower lip with her fangs.

Her smile was the only warning that he had before she used her strength against him and flipped them over. Damn, and it was just getting good too, watching her as she pleasured herself and touched where they were joined. It had been heady, feeling two sensations; one her hand and the other her slick, hot core. He had been close to the cusp too.

But she took charge and his heart did a little stutter step of excitement. Her hips straddled his, keeping them joined the entire time and with one hand pinning him down on his chest – and digging those claws into him – she leaned back and cupped the jewels. And he jumped when she tugged them, hard. The jolt that went through him was enough to pull him back from the brink of orgasm.

"Watch it, woman…" he growled, but she leaned over him and nibbled at his lower lip with her fangs and his growl faded straight to a groan. She ground her hips against him, pulling him in deeper and one of his hands reached back and grabbed her ass, urging her on a little harder, a little deeper, in exactly the right position. It felt so good that it didn't take more than a couple of seconds before he was back to where he started; right about to fall over the edge.

With his other hand, Lukas skated up her body and cupped her breast, feathering his thumb over the peak.

"I'm gonna come…" he warned her, "But don't worry… I'm a machine," he grinned.

Rouge flashed a grin and ground her hips down against him, letting out a low moan from how good it felt. She released his balls with her free hand and repositioned it to stroke her clit as she leaned forward, spread her knees a little wider, and began pumping her ass up and down furiously. She clenched her core around him deliberately, milking him madly as her own crest rose swift before her.

"I'm not about to let you show me up, marine," she challenged back, her voice breathless and harsh from how close she was to exploding into tiny, blazing pieces of pure pleasure. Behind her, her tail whipped from side to side violently and her wings stretched out and bated the air, adding more leverage to her hips as she worked him over.

She dropped her head and fused her lips with his in a desperate, searing kiss, a duel between tongues and teeth. It was the last straw; with a harsh cry followed by a low moan, Rouge came so swiftly and so hard that she shuddered, struggling to keep her body moving. Despite the fact that it became almost painful in its pleasure, her hips _increased_ their pace, riding him hard and deep as another cry hissed out between her lips and into his mouth.

"Come with me, Lukas," she begged, their breaths mingling as her lips moved over his.

He couldn't take it anymore. She tried to keep him from blowing his shit, he tried as well to keep his self control under wraps, but this had been such a long time coming that he'd met his quota. How many times did he fantasize about what it would be like to be inside her and come? How many nights did he dream about sex with her and heard her sexy sounds in his imagination? His subconscious had wanted this for a long time, despite himself.

At the same time she kissed him, she came for him, her whole body trembling from the force of it and still, she rocked her hips more forcibly against his. She didn't even have to ask before his orgasm came on the shirttails of hers. His hands on her hips pushed his cock into her harder and deeper and he thought the explosion of pleasure was never going to end. Colors popped and his muscles twitched, tensed and relaxed at different intervals and her kiss stole her name off his lips.

Then came the wind down and she slowed and he slowed until she was blanketed against his chest, her face rested in the crook of his neck and all that sounded through the room was the pulse in his head from his heart and their mixed, stuttered breathing. Well. That was quick. So worked up and strung out and so far under each other's skin that it really hadn't taken much to jump right to the main event.

When she'd gotten that deep under his skin he wasn't sure and frankly, he didn't want to stop and think about it. Right now, all he wanted to focus on was Rouge and her hot, naked body sprawled over his and his cock still buried hilt deep inside her. And how much sex there was still to be had.

Lukas rolled them over until he was over her now and slowly, he cocked one of her knees up and stretched her long, slender leg up until her ankle rested on his shoulder, "Don't you dare go to sleep on me…" he growled, the fierceness of it compromised by the slight breathlessness of his tone, "I'm not finished with you yet…"

The sun was up at full force by the time Rouge finally cracked open her eyelids. Her whole body was sore, deliciously so, and reminded her of what she'd spent her time doing all night. Or, rather, who she'd been doing...

Rouge turned her head to see Lukas lying next to her, his big body curled around her almost protectively, one large thigh thrown over her with his large palm cupping her breast even in his sleep. A small, carefree smile lifted the corners of her lips. If only it were this simple, if only she had the option to wake up like this every morning.

If it was still morning, that is...

She sighed almost inaudibly, staring at the ceiling. Last night had been...well, there was no denying it or pretending, it had been the best fucking night of her life. Lukas had a stamina that matched her own, and she'd thought they were going to die from how much sex had taken place, not to mention all of the other things that had gone down. She was sure the sheets were riddled with blood and semen, and the humorous part of her felt a twinge of guilt for the innkeeper who would have to clean this room out.

Poor bastard.

A part of her, suspiciously located in her chest, felt both hollow and heavy at the same time. How could she have found a man so perfectly matched to her and have him be a marine? It just wasn't fair...But despite the emptiness she was sure to feel when her bed was cold and empty, Rouge would never regret last night. It had been...fucking fantastic.

So while she may be paying for it later, at the moment, she felt mostly...motivated. All of the sex had ironed out her stressed nerves and left her feeling limber and more relaxed than she had in days. Her mind felt sharper, more capable of dealing with the mission that would take place later tonight.

She had to save Niki, and for the moment, it would be the only thing on her mind.

With a groan, Rouge pulled herself away from the warmth of Lukas's hold and rose out of bed. She did so with the least amount of jostling possible, hoping to let her marine sleep a little longer. A glance through the window told her that it was, in fact, early afternoon.

Rubbing her eyes and thinking about all of the preparations she wanted to do before the assault on the estate tonight, Rouge headed for the bathroom, and turned the shower on at full power. Within moments, she was wet and soapy, lathering up her hair absentmindedly as she stared at the shower wall, unaware of the fierce look of concentration she had on her face.

He woke up the minute she shifted in the bed and he fought the urge to cling to her and grumble about her not being allowed to leave yet. But he refrained and let her go, deciding the couple minutes alone to wake up might be good for him.

Dear god, what the hell had happened last night? The pure amount of mind blowing sex they'd engaged in probably could have set a world record. He didn't know where he'd even gotten the energy. He was good, but even he didn't think he was that good. They tried everything, any inkling of fantasy was attempted last night and it had been, plain and simple, fucking fantastic. Best. Sex. Of his life. They'd only stopped when the sun started to streak grays and pinks, so sweaty and exhausted that they could barely move.

Lukas shifted over to his back and winced. The flesh of his shoulders was problematically mince meat. He loved it in the moment but he might need some medical attention now. He turned and where he'd passed out on his back last night before rolling over to spoon his dragon was dotted and streaked with blood. He made a face. The poor innkeeper is going to think murder and rape happened in here last night. Coupled with the screaming...

And he was convinced he and Rouge could have done worse too.

He sat up and ran his hands through his hair. He was sticky from sweat and blood and other bodily fluids and he could hear her rustling around in the shower. There was a lot of work to be done before the assault on the major tonight and it was already creeping into afternoon. He needed to get his ass in gear.

He climbed out of the bed and padded his way buck-ass naked into the bathroom. Steam curled out of the doorway and fogged up the glass of the shower. He could just see her vague form behind it, naked, her hands foaming up in her thick mass of curls. Curls that felt so good in his hands and against his body…

Lukas slid open the shower stall door and leaned casually against it, one hand braced against the door and the other hooked over the top, "Want some company," his easy smirk melted to an almost puzzled pout, "Gee, why so serious? We get to kick some ass and take some names today," he stepped into the shower, "Did you say you wanted company? I heard you say you wanted some…"

Rouge almost jumped when Lukas appeared, turning startled sapphire eyes to him. Normally she'd have heard or smelled him the moment he came into the bathroom, but ever since she'd met him, she had so much more on her mind that she usually had to contend with, meaning she was distracted more than usual. Coupled with Niki's kidnapping, she felt like her mind was constantly on overtime these days.

"You have such inventive hearing, marine," Rouge said dryly as he crowded her back against the wall of the shower with his much larger body. He loomed over her, still smelling of sex and blood, as the water gushed down over one of his shoulders. Rouge couldn't help but admire the continuous _presence_ that he exuded, especially here, naked and with his eyes still darkened from their lovemaking. He exuded confidence, domination, and utter control, and when one tossed in his devastating smirk, he was downright sexy as hell. But just because she was impressed by his virility didn't mean she had to show it.

Rouge turned her back on him and raised her hands above her head to run her fingers through her long hair as she leaned her head back into the spray of the water, washing away the suds. "And to be exact, _I_ get to kick some ass, and you get to take names from your little rooftop perch," she pitched her voice to a cutesy squeak as she described his rooftop perch, teasing him with a barely concealed grin on her face as she shook the back of her head at him, spraying him with water. "But don't worry, I'll provide you with _plenty_ of entertainment as you watch me get my violent groove on."

She chuckled then, the sound a low, satisfied purr that emerged from the base of her throat, half human, half dragon. It struck her, then, how easily this man was able to pull her from the dark thoughts of Niki's kidnapping and her...romantic...dilemma to mirth and goodnatured teasing. It unsettled her how easily her life brightened by the sound of his voice, the smell of his body, and the sigh of his easy smile.

The shower was small so the moment he stepped in, he was right in her space, crowding her back against the wall to make room for his shoulders. She was so sexy, leaning and arching her back to rinse the soap out of her curls, her breasts jutted forward, her stomach taut and her ribs outlined. She tossed her head, whipping her hair in his face to peg him with a look and a little quip about what his job was going to be tonight.

From his _little perch_.

"My little _perch,_ " he told her, tracing his hands from her naked hips up to cup her breasts, "is gonna be keeping you from getting your violent groove on," he skated his hand over her nipples and felt the heat stir a little in the bottom of his stomach as his palms glazed over the pertness of the little buds. One hand stayed on her breast and the other kept climbing, over the slim column of her neck until he held her chin in his large palm, "I will kill _anyone_ and _everyone_ who attempts to get close to you," he promised, with a smirk and a growl that declared moreso than his words that he would relish in spilling the blood of her potential attackers.

"Until then…" he tipped her face to the side and chased a droplet of water that was running down her neck, "That 'plenty of entertainment' for me to watch can start anytime, you know…" getting closer to her under the spray of the water forced his chest against her back, pressing her breasts into his hand and her ass into his groin.

Rouge perked a brow at his domineering comment and as he pressed himself into her, she whirled around, using the element of surprise to pin him to the side of the shower, under the spray of water. "If you take away all my fun tonight, then I'll take away all of _your fun_ until you're begging for mercy," she teased him, unable to stop the easy banter that arose between them whenever they let their mouths get the better of them.

Baring her teeth, she reached down to cup his groin the same time she lunged forward and bit down on the thick muscle between his neck and his shoulder. "I'll show you how much I _don't_ need you looking out for me," she promised with a husky growl, trying desperately from keeping the chuckle from her voice.

At an hour before dusk, everyone fighting for the Black Bull met at the Blue Unicorn Inn met to go over the final strategy. The final two Inner Circle had arrived, and the six members who controlled lower ranking smugglers were dispatched first to get the fifty or so men in position for the two first assaults; the frontal attack first, followed by an attack to the flank. Rouge, Teddy, Pixie, Lukas, and Roary were the last ones to remain once the rest of the Inner Circle had been dispatched to focal points around the estate, each with a specific target in mind.

"Rouge will deposit Lukas on the guard tower on route with Pixie and Teddy, and I will be awaiting nearby, on standby to receive Niki and expedite her release from the estate should the fighting continue after she has been returned to us," Roary explained. His two men flanked his sides, and their location would not be disclosed to anyone else among the Inner Circle, not even Rouge. They would be aware of what is going on due to Roary's powerful Color of Observation haki, but should any member be captured or compromised, they would be unable to lead the enemy to the Bull.

Rouge stood next to Lukas, and nodded her head sharply in understanding. "Yessir," she answered, giving a little salute and turning a half smirk in Lukas' direction, casually muttering, " _little perch_ " under her breath.

"We should get into position. The assaults will happen faster than you might anticipate," Teddy's deep voice cut in, and Pixie danced excitedly on her tiptoes next to the man who was almost three times her size.

"This is going to be so much fun!" she thrilled, clapping her petite hands together. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with a mixture of glee and mischief. Rouge giggled and reached out a hand to tousle her hair.

"Just don't get yourself hurt, little one," Rouge teased as she broke huddle and headed for the exit. Unlike many of the Twelve, who'd traded their day clothes for suave black combat gear, Rouge had remained in her typical low-cut jean shorts, her black and blue flame bikini top, and the blue puffy vest. However, unlike usual, there were _three_ different daggers secured to her belt, and her hands were covered in thick leather gloves with the fingertips cut off. Her boots had been switched out to ones were were a little bulkier than usual, and contained secret compartments for small daggers, a hand pistol good only for three shots, and two grenades that Franky had manufactured for her.

In her ear, as was the case for everyone on this endeavor, a very tiny den den mushi was affixed to her ear shell. It would allow them to keep in communication with one another, and rather than making direct calls between one den den mushi and another, these ones were all linked. What one person said, everyone could hear. Lukas had been given the responsibility of helping to coordinate everyone's movements depending on what his birds-eye vision told him.

"Let's do this. We gotta get to the edge of the grove before I can shift, or we'll have marines all over us." she disappeared up the stairs, walking with a cool confidence that everyone would follow her lead. As the night sky became increasingly dark, her black dragon scales would meld her into the darkness and provide them with an added cover as they approached the heavily armed estate. Once they were in the air, the first assault, and then five minutes later, the second assault would begin. By the second assault, Rouge was responsible for dropping Lukas off. They would use the unexpected chaos of the second assault to barge in the front door.

As Lukas followed Rouge into the Blue Unicorn Inn, he looked nothing short of an assassin. And he had the confidence and swagger to match. Dressed from head to toe in black, he was like a shadow. He made no noise when he walked, his tread as soft as the wind despite his heavy boots. Black fatigues covered his legs and the roped muscle of his chest and arms were covered in that technical material that prevented blood from showing through and hugged him like a second skin. His mask and hat obscured his features.

But, what gave him that look of deadly intent was the sheer amount of arsenal he carried on his person. Cyborg-Franky issued sniper rifle, capable of shooting with pristine accuracy at ridiculously long distances slung over his back. A chest holster with two long barreled pistols equipped with silencers nestled against his ribs. Two more on each hip. Tucked in various pockets of his fatigues were boxes of ammunition, hundreds of bullets; enough to kill every single enemy in this fight if he planted one between the eyes. Which he planned to.

And, should guns fail him at some point, he wasn't stupid. He had two eight-inch blades strapped to his back, handles down, ready to rumble. They weren't his forte, but should he need them, they'd do in a pinch.

He was living, breathing destruction. Black death. He planned to sweep over those men like a fucking shadow of anarchy and make the job of retrieving Niki that much easier.

He'd long since come to terms with the fact that he was working alongside criminals. He reasoned at first that this was for Rouge, and when that had seemed ridiculous, he'd rationalized that the Don and the Lawash group were common enemies. Had he been in the marines at this very moment, he would be organizing a team to get in the manor and get those fucks too.

The reasons behind it though, are vastly different depending on which side of the justice system he was looking out from. To the marines, one smuggler held hostage by the enemy was too domestic to get involved in. But a chance at the two top smuggling rings in the world, well, that was nothing to sneeze at. From where Lukas was standing right now, he had nothing personal invested in this raid, as a marine or as a criminal. So why did he bother?

Because Rouge had something personal invested in this. Even as he tried to deny it, it was the one and only real reason why he stayed. For her. Her fight was his fight.

God damn it, his sister was right. He was in love with her, wasn't he? He glanced her way and she muttered _little perch_ with a little smirk and he winked back at her, smiling behind his mask. Oh shit, he didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about it because it would just make it hurt more to her let walk away tomorrow. Already, it was enough that he was putting forth a serious effort to squelch the panic that he knew was bound to arise. He needed all his head about him now.

As everyone got it together about when and what was about to happen, Lukas adjusted his ear piece and then systematically checked his arsenal, popping open the magazine, checking ammunition and slamming the clip back in. It was therapeutic, took his mind off his feelings and brought his best part forward; the sniper reconnaissance vice admiral who had been nursed on this. This was his greatest strength. Tactics, siege, fighting. As a young boy, his ability to tread around unnoticed, his then slight yet natural affinity with Observation Haki and his sharp eye had quickly earned him a seat in recon and stealth training. Then came weapons training and of course, all the basics of fighting and combat. He was good at this, no, he was great at this and since his promotion to Vice Admiral, the opportunity to be in the thick of the action was limited now. He gave the orders now, he didn't follow them.

He let the adrenaline and the excitement build up in him now. It was going to be dangerous, yes, it could be potentially deadly. But he had too much confidence in his own skills to let that sway him.

Rouge rose and declared that it was time to rumble and he shifted as well, Teddy and Pixie and the others moving to follow her lead. It wasn't hard for him to see that of the Twelve, she was clearly a leader among them and he found that quality in her extremely likeable. He was a leader by nature too. But right now, he relished in the idea of having all the leg work laid out for him. Once he was in his nest, so to speak, however, the team was going to be relying on his intel from above. It was enough leadership for him.

The walk to the edge of the grove, heading to the mostly empty east side that bordered the estate's land, was quick. The smugglers and Lukas took to the rooftops, bounding over them in great leaps and, in Pixie's case, flips of fancy. They arrived within fifteen minutes, then Rouge broke away from the rest of them and approached the water's edge. Once she'd made enough room for herself, she adjusted her weapons, and shifted.

Within seconds she was replaced by a large, sleek black dragon, smoke unfurling from her nostrils and her lethal tail whipping back and forth in anticipation. She immediately sat back on her haunches and extended her neck as far as it would go, peering over the rooftops and through the sparse trees towards the brightly lit estate.

She remained utterly motionless, while everyone else remained silent and still, as she waited for the signal. Her sharp eyes were capable of seeing the individual men on patrol on the towers and along the wall that surrounded the place like a castle. Her eyes flickered over them briefly, deciding which of the two towers was currently least manned, then turned her eyes to the area before the estate.

For a brief second, a flash of light came from the darkened road before the estate, almost like a mirror reflecting light. Her eyes easily caught the signal, and with a satisfied purr, she dropped back down to all fours and crouched low enough for her nakama and Lukas to embark.

"Time to go. Be ready, Lukas, you're the first stop on the dragon express," Rouge rumbled, her voice low and her eyes glowing with anticipation and bloodthirst. Once everyone had secured themselves, she didn't wait, but leapt directly up into the air, her large wings snapping out to grab at the wind.

"I love flying with you Rouge!" Pixie exclaimed, holding on with only her legs as her hands shot into the air and she let out a giggle of delight as the wind pushed back her multi-colored short hair. Rouge's reply came in thrumming chuckle that vibrated the sides of her large scaled flanks.

Rouge was almost to the estate when the first assault charged. She watched as her people made as much ungodly noise as humanly possible, drawing the attention of the vast majority of the Don and the Lawash's forces that were situated near the front gate. Rouge watched the two front towers, looking for the one that was the least manned in order to deposit Lukas. The front assault provided enough distraction to get him into position without alerting all of the enemies' forces to their sniper.

As soon as the second assault started towards the side, Rouge dashed for the left guard tower, using her long tail to effortlessly sweep the two remaining guards from the top section of the tower. As deftly as a hand, her tail now snaked up towards her own back, wrapped securely around where she could feel Lukas sitting, and hefted him off her back. She let out a little 'oompf' sound and turned her head back to glare at him as she dropped him onto the tower. "Man, weigh much?" she shook her head at him.

In that split second, where she was about to part from him to head into battle, Rouge wished that Teddy and Pixie weren't present. She felt like she had to say something to him, something urgent, but the heat of the battle was just getting to the boiling point, and she was out of time.

"Be safe, and don't hit any of us," Rouge warned, her blue eyes softened a fraction as she eyed him, then she was gone.

Like a black shadow, she leapt up into the night sky, then dove for the main estate. The primary building was flanked by two side buildings and a rear-side long building that created an immense courtyard in the very center of the estate. Lush gardens and fountains dotted much of it, and Rouge headed right for the very center, where there was enough clear room for her to land. The moment her feet touched the ground, Teddy and Pixie leapt from her back, and she shifted back to her human form, arms up, hands filled with a dagger each.

There were only two times that he'd been faced with the intensity of her dragon form. Once, he'd been pinned to the ground for harrassing her cousins. The other time was as blotchy in his memory as a long-forgotten dream when he was feverish and delirious.

He never imagined just how… exhilarating it would be. She leapt into the sky and the little girl Pixie shrieked in delight and Lukas – being the first one to be dropped off and thus on the back of the train, so to speak – leaned back and automatically grasped for purchase on her smooth scales. It proved to be difficult at best and he was simply forced to steady himself the best he could.

He'd grown up riding the roller coasters in Sabaody Park and that's what he akinned riding a dragon to. Except far more dangerous because he wasn't strapped in and there was the lingering panic that he might very well slide off her flank. There was that same flip in his stomach and the way the wind pulled at his skin and clothes. But the ride was lacking the bumps and jars that came with a little cart riding on a steel track. It was smooth as silk and after a couple of seconds, he no longer felt like he needed to hold on.

The commotion coming from the east side was deafening. Lukas' eyebrows shot up at Rouge rounded the guard towers and he got a view of the chaos. Screaming, screeching, gunfire, clashing, it was hellish. But the ruckus allowed her to slip to the highest of the guard towers, dispose of the poor suckers inside of it with a flip of her tail and in the same smooth motion she deposited him. He grabbed the roof with his hands and swung his way in just as she released him.

He turned and for one brief moment, there was a sudden tension between them, like they each had something to say yet no way to say it. He wanted to tell her to be careful, be safe even though he knew she would be. She was too smart to get caught unawares and he had more confidence in her clear head now than he did yesterday. But he was at a loss for words and as she warned him to not shoot her nakama, all he managed was a curt nod before she disappeared.

Alright. Time to get down to business.

Lukas was nothing if not efficient and he didn't need a fancy stand to hold his sniper rifle in place. Within seconds of Rouge depositing him, he was bunkered down in the shadows, the barrel of his gun resting on the half wall and his scope sighted down to the chaos surrounding the east gate. As Leon had promised, all the Bull smugglers were equip with a sensor that made them glow blue in his night vision scope while everyone else was shaded in funky hues of green. Switching to his heat sensor mode proved very similar. Excellent. No way was he going to mistake the Bull's team for the enemy.

No sooner had he got settled than the second assault began in earnest from the west. He'd seen them entering just as Rouge left him there and now they were making the same ungodly noise as the first assault. It was utter confusion; clearly the enemy hadn't realized that the Bull even had enough people to make it for two assaults. People were rushing to and fro, trying to decide which was more important to guard; the east or the west.

Before he started targeting any foes however, he surveyed the area, clicking the den den mushi attached to his earlobe so that it remained on and he didn't have to keep lifting his hand to communicate.

"The commotion is drawing forces from the south and north gate," he said, his voice pitched low in whisper, "We've caught them offguard; they can't organize…" he moved his vision to the courtyard just as Rouge and the gang dropped down, "Dragon, you're clear. They haven't spotted your arrival yet…"

He targeted the east gate first, as he was closest and had the clearest shots. His first clip was expired when he started noticing something strange. The Bull's men were falling unexpectedly…

"They have snipers!" he growled, adjusting his sights, "West guard tower and north guard tower!" he honed in on their weapons, "Get out of range while I take care of them," he tuned his scope, "I've got you, you sons of bitches…"

He cleared the west towers when his Haki tingled and he let out a rush of air as he nimbly rotated to the side. A sniper bullet grazed the top of his shoulder, clearly meant for his head. He could feel the sting and burn and the blood dripping over his collarbone and pec, but couldn't see it.

"Damn it…" he growled.

"Marine! Are you okay?" it was the Bull's voice. Obviously his Haki picked up on Lukas' bullet hole.

"Ya, I'm good," he replied as he put a bullet between the guy-who-shot-him's eyes, "They've spotted me. I've moving to the west tower…"

Before he packed up to move, he checked the courtyard where Rouge and her pack was. They'd been spotted and forces were coming out of the buildings to attack them, though not nearly as dense as the west and east gates. The three of them made a good team; Pixie was a fast little girl and Rouge was an expert fighter. Teddy was smashing through people with his big hammer fists. Lukas couldn't help but take out a couple of fighters that Rouge was working with, even though she had it covered.

"Told you I'd be covering your ass," his smirk was in his voice as he broadcasted over the transponder snail before he packed up his shit and beat feet to the west tower.

The 'foot-soldiers' who were the first to oppose them in the courtyard were laughably easy to take out, despite their much larger numbers. Pixie and Teddy fanned out on either side of her, maneuvering themselves into a large triangle, all with their backs to each other, and took down one after the other. At one point, she heard Roary's voice over the communication transponder snail, asking about Lukas, and she almost let her adversary hit her in the face during the split second of distraction. Lukas, hit?

But his voice, rumbling over the communication device with more irritation than any kind of pain, reassure her. She returned her full focus to the courtyard, and now let her eyes span away from the foes before her, and take in the general chaos.

But below the chaos was information that she was capable of deciphering. The lowly foot-soldiers were becoming fewer as their numbers were severely reduced by Teddy, Pixie, and Rouge. She noticed that the number of foot-soldiers in Pixie's direction was larger and more dispersed back towards the edge of the courtyard than what was before Teddy or Rouge, despite the fact that Pixie appeared to be the weakest adversary. Rouge's eyes tracked the men back, back until her dragon eyes pierced through the gloom and saw the shadow of a doorway, leading into the depths of the building. It was almost as if they were guarding _that_ door, ensuring the most protection before it more than any of the other doors that opened up onto the courtyard.

That's where they had Niki.

 _Bingo_.

Rouge's lips turned up into a vicious smile that made the man before her hesitate. She wasn't aware of how bloodthirsty she looked as she suddenly shot forward, and defeated all of those before her in a flurry of kicks and punches so fast the image of her blurred. "I've got a target route. Dispatch your enemy, and let's _move out_." The utter command and force of the last two words rippled through the air around her like heat off a pavement, and her eyes were piercing as they flickered first to Teddy, then to Pixie. Both gave a sharp nod of their heads before their movements also increased in speed and force.

Rouge turned in the direction of the door, not planning on waiting for Pixie to finish off the handful of men left to her before heading for it, but her path was suddenly and unexpectedly blocked. It was such a surprise that Rouge stared up at the man for a full three seconds before she reacted to the knife flying for her midsection at the end of a lean, well-muscled arm.

With barely an inch between her skin and the tip of the blade, Rouge suddenly backflipped out of range, landing on her feet in a crouched, defensive position, both of her hands now filled with a dagger each. Her eyes drank in her new opponent, and she grit her teeth as she realized she was not going to be able to dispatch him as quickly as she had the other attackers in the courtyard.

The man was tall, towering above her by over a foot. He was even taller than Teddy, though by a small amount, but his body was much leaner, almost skinny. If she hadn't already seen the stark lines of his muscles in his arm, she might have considered him weak, since his loose clothing covering much of his torso made him look almost frail. His face was cool, composed, with glittering black eyes locked on her face and lips pulled up into a pleasant smile. His skin was brown, and his short wiry hair was black as midnight. His pointy chin was covered in short curly hair, cut into the shape of a rough goatee. He had a scar that ran from his temple down to the edge of his jaw, adding a more menacing air to him than his thin body could.

She had never met him before, but she'd heard of a man like him. Joshua Rooks, an expert with blades of all kind, but specialized in hand daggers and throwing stars. He had a bounty almost as high as Rouge's, and was known for his nasty habit of taking his time with his opponents, savoring the kill and sometimes torturing them before their demise.

Her lips twisted into a sneer, and Rouge let her eyes flash blue with contempt as she straightened out of her crouch, and brought her dagger-filled hands up into a much looser stance. "Oh, I will take great pleasure in destroying you, cupcake," Rouge said in a smooth, taunting voice. "You're scum that doesn't even deserve to be on these seas."

The man before her simply answered with a smile, then slowly shifted into a strange pose where he held one hand over his head and the other at his side, sliding his legs out into a fairly wide stance, one leg stretched forward and the other out to the side and slightly back. He was about to attack, Rouge knew, and she took a second to assess where Pixie and Teddy were.

Her eyes flickered around, and found that Pixie was facing off with Nini the Cat, and Teddy was being circled by two different men, one she recognized at Shinn of the Wind, and the other she did not know, but he carried two large curved scimitars in his hands.

Rouge looked back to Joshua, and had only a split second to react as she saw a blade coming at her face. She bent back, the blade whizzing above her face, and simultaneously shot her hands up and wrapped them around the man's wrist. She gave a vicious twist, and succeeded in getting the knife to clatter down to the ground, then used the leverage of her body to continue her back bend, but dropping her knees to increase the weight and force as she hauled him over her, then delivered a punishing kick to his stomach before she sent him flying behind her.

At the very last moment, she felt a burn slice across her exposed stomach as he managed to get her in a shallow cut as he sailed over her body. Recovering fast, Rouge continued the back flip until she was back on her feet and facing him, catching with her eyes the roll he fell into at the last moment before his head would have struck the stone path.

For a split second, both reassessed the other, taking the first assault and analyzing the actions of the other. She could see him doing it with those eerie black eyes of his, the same way her mind was going over his every motion. There was a sudden stillness, one in which the rest of the world was blocked out, right before Rouge and Joshua suddenly exploded in movement.

They locked together, and so began a furious exchange of fists and feet as they both combined kicks and punches with the sharp edges of knives. Soon Rouge was littered with tiny cuts, but then so was her opponent. She got him across the back of the neck; he got her across her calf. She hit him hard in the solar plexus, he retaliated by sweeping her feet from under her and slicing her forearm open. She hissed, he growled, and time and place faded as she poured all of her focus into taking this man down.

Suddenly, a sharp cry from her right from a voice she recognized drew her attention. Her eyes flew to the sight of Pixie being held up by her throat by a transformed half-cougar, half- woman. Talons were digging into the soft flesh of the smaller girl's neck, and rivulets of blood streamed down her collarbone.

"Pixie!" Rouge cried, alarmed, and before she could think better of it, let loose a stream of fire that scorched along Nini's back, setting the tip of her tail on fire. The woman let out a scream of rage and dropped Pixie, clawing at her own back before she dropped to the ground and began rolling around to put out the flames.

The distraction took it's toll. She didn't even have time to turn her head back towards her foe when she felt a blinding pain in her shoulder. She had given him the time to prepare, and the force of the attack was so great that she was knocked off her feet and hit the ground on the flat of her back so hard, the wind was knocked from her.

Suddenly Joshua was above her, leaping on top of her into a crouched position and grabbing the end of a very short spear, or, rather, a very large dagger with an extended, straight hilt, and driving it deeper into her shoulder, pinning her to the ground like a butterfly under a microscope.

Rouge let out a bellow of rage, her voice splitting the air so loud that Joshua winced from the sound of it, but the pitch faded away, and the fire building in her throat to roast the man above her...vanished. Mouth open, eyes wide, Rouge stared up at him in utter shock as she started to feel her whole body go weak.

Frantic, her eyes flew to the blade buried deep in her shoulder, and found that it was a deeper, duller hue than the rest of his knives. The blade...was made from Seastone.

She didn't have time to do anything, to call for assistance, before Joshua pulled his fist back, and punched her in the face, hard. Her head ricocheted off the ground below her and she saw stars.

A few yards away, Teddy saw what was happening, and let out a roar of anger, physically lifting the unknown man up off his feet and throwing him several yards away into a solid stone wall. He moved to charge at Rouge's attacker, but suddenly Shinn was there, darting in and striking with such power that Teddy stumbled. At the same time, his second opponent pulled himself to his feet, moving tenderly, but with determination. He shot towards Teddy, his blades raised. If he didn't pay attention, he would be killed. His eyes flickered between his opponent, and Rouge.

Pixie saw the dilemna too, but Nini was still recovering from her burn and was moving slower than she had been before. In a panic, Pixie darted back and away, holding a hand up to the communication device and screaming into it, "Rouge is down! Marine, you need to help her!" Pixie's voice was laced with panic as she darted ever further out of Nini's reach, trying to maneuver herself closer to Rouge, but the woman was deliberately trying to keep her away from the fallen dragon. "Snipe the shit out of that motherfucker!" Pixie demanded shrilly, but the distraction cost her. Nini shot forward, and both girls went down in a literal cat fight. Pixie was quicker, amazingly, and she was much smaller, more capable of maneuvering herself, but Nini was stronger and had claws.

Rouge opened her eyes, her hearing roaring and drowning out both Teddy and Pixie's cries. She struggled to bring herself back into focus, and saw another fist come sailing towards her head. She just managed to tilt her head to the side to avoid it, and _felt_ the stones crack next to her head where Joshua's fist connected with them. She moved to pull the dagger out, but suddenly her forearms were being pinned to her sides by the man's knees.


	9. Chapter 9

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

It hit him like a sea train. At first, he wasn't sure what it was; typically his Observation Haki wasn't sensitive to the cries of battle and stress because he'd been trained in that environment and was more than capable of withstanding the deafening and debilitating cries of the scared and dying. So when he was brought to a sudden stop and reached a hand out to lean against the wall as a fury of rage, anger and panic flooded his mind, his knees wobbling, he was confused for a moment.

It was the shriek of Pixie right in his ear, hearing and feeling her spine-chilling panic that it immediately clicked what was wrong.

 _Rouge is down_.

So attuned to her feelings, her state of mind was constantly a shadow in his and he realized it was the severity of her emotional state that he was hearing. So strong that it was capable of nearly bringing him to his knees. It couldn't just be her own life in danger… Teddy and Pixie must be in a state of duress too.

Panic attempted to grip him like a vice as his adrenal gland pumped so hard he felt suddenly lightheaded. However, he wasn't a vice admiral for nothing. Panic was a wasted emotion when you were at war. There was no room to constantly worry about friends and allies.

The trigger was simple; panic melted into determination and motivation and he pushed himself off the wall and headed straight for the courtyard, his legs pumping as he ran, Pixie screaming in his ear to snipe the courtyard, but he couldn't. One minute… he just needed one minute… 60 seconds… he burst into the manor and was immediately set upon by enemies. They were no match for him; he felt them coming before they realized he was there and they were dead before they could raise their hands to attack. Rouge's emotions acted as his guide as he skidded across linoleum flooring and crashed through the glass double doors that led to the courtyard.

It was complete chaos there, but he saw nothing as his sharp vision tracked Rouge. He saw her assailant, pinning her to the ground with his huge body and a short sword dug right through her shoulder and into the ground. The guy drew back his fist, his eyes glinting with victory and malicious intent. Lukas felt the intake of her breath, as if she was surprised or trying to steel herself for the blow. He pulled up his glock and barely registered the heartbeat it took to take aim and pulled the trigger.

He saw the hole bloom like a flower in the guy's forehead before he heard the quiet click of the bullet leaving the chamber. His face melted then froze in time and before his body fell forward onto Rouge, Lukas was moving. He popped off more shots as his feet automatically took him to his downed dragon, taking out the cougar woman Pixie was fighting and the two men that Teddy was facing against. He didn't stop to see the looks of surprise on their faces when they realized that their opponents were dead and Lukas had joined their little squad as he skidded to a halt beside Rouge and muscled her dead assailant off her. The blade was buried in her right shoulder and he knew that she was right handed. Even if she had gotten the guy, there was no way she would have been able to pull the sword all the way out with her left arm. Not just the strength needed, but the angle and depth of the blade way longer than her arm could have reached. And, he noticed with a quick involuntary skip of his heart, it was made of kairoseki and while she was an excellent fighter, her strength was compromised in her human form.

"I've got you," he told her, crouching over her and laying his left hand against her collarbone near the blade to keep her steady. Blood was swelling up and trying to escape. He didn't bother to countdown or ask her if she was ready before he grasped the handle of the sword and pulled it from her shoulder as fast as he felt confident to. Bless her, she didn't scream or cry, hell, she didn't even breathe, he was certain. He moved fast, dropping the blade with a metallic noise against the stone and he ripped off the whole sleeve of his skin-tight shirt. Hot, warm blood ran out of the wound and over his hands as he wrapped her shoulder in the material and tied it tight to stem the flow.

"There," he said, crawling off her to allow her to sit up, "You good to go? We've got shit to do," lightning fast as his haki tingled, he pulled out his guns and shot two foot soldiers who were brave enough to try to storm them. His eyes never left her face. He was torn, in that moment, between telling her to hang it up and let him handle it from here and telling her off for not being careful and telling her to suck it up and get going because this was war and there was no room for coddling an injury. She was everything in that moment; his friend, his lover and his fellow soldier and he had a different reaction for every persona.

Rouge was struggling to figure out a way to get out of this situation when suddenly, she felt the man crouching above her jerk, and then go utterly still. Her eyes flashed to his face to watch as blood started oozing out of the hole that had suddenly appeared in his forehead. Rouge's eyes widened in surprise, and her head fell back and to the side as her eyes frantically searched for who had pulled the trigger. The angle wasn't from a sniper; Joshua had had his head angle downwards.

Lukas.

Her eyes landed on him as he shot across the courtyard, his sniper gun up and nestled tight against his shoulder. He moved so quickly for such a large man, and had Joshua's deadweight body off of her before she could even react to the situation. It all happened to fast.

Lukas was above her, his deep rumbling voice assuring her that he had her, and then he was pulling the blade from her shoulder and wrapping the wound up in his shirt sleeve. The color drained from her face from the pain, and she grit her teeth so hard that her teeth complained, but she didn't utter a sound.

Finally, he slid off of her, and Rouge pushed herself up into a crouch, gingerly testing the shoulder. It sent fiery pain down her arm and into her chest, but nothing she couldn't handle. She pictured Niki, pictured how bad her condition could be right now, and the pain vanished from her mind, to be replaced with steely determination and pure, unbridled rage.

She looked up, and found Lukas staring at her hard, with a million things running through his clear eyes that weren't coming out of his mouth. He insisted they had to go, but she could see that he wanted to say more, wanted to take her out of this hellhole, but to his credit, he didn't even try.

A small smile flickered over her lips, and the spark of her normal attitude returned to her eyes. Warmth blossomed in her chest, a reaction to the way he just...got her. He understood what needed to happen right now, understood _her_.

God, she loved him.

The realization was quiet, more of a relief than anything, now that she could admit it to herself, in the private recesses of her mind. And even though this should cause her distress, considering what lay ahead of them once this war was over with, at the moment it caused only a burgeoning of energy.

She pushed herself to her feet, brushed herself off, and swooped down to grab up the seastone weapon, tucking it into her belt. She winked at Lukas, pulling her wild hair up and out of her face, "What are you talking about? _I've_ got shit to do...you have a perch to go find." She teased him, taking the time to asses how her shoulder could move in its current condition. She deemed it still capable of hand-to-hand, but she would be careful with it.

She glanced over to find that Teddy was helping Pixie with a wound across her belly, aware that both were purposefully giving her space with Lukas. Everyone seemed to know about their relationship, and while it had irritated Rouge how easy they'd accepted it at first, now she was glad for it. Glad that they'd allowed a marine into their fold because she'd vouched for him.

"I'm going down with Teddy and Pixie. We'll keep in communication. I don't think there's much left...they were guarding that door rather fervently," Rouge informed Lukas, then turned to look at him once more. Unable to help herself, she reached out a hand and brushed her fingers over his cheek, as if wiping some dirt off of him when she really just needed to touch him. "Be careful up there, and watch for our re-emergence...that's when they're REALLY going to start gunning for us and us alone." Then, on an impulse, she leaned up, brushed her lips over his, then started for the door leading down, raising a hand and indicating for Teddy and Pixie to follow. Like silent predators, they fell into step behind her.

Only Pixie broke the deadly aura when she turned around at the last moment and waved a thank-you at Lukas with a huge grin on her face.

He watched her walk away, his heart doing a little stutter step somewhere in the region of his heart. He was accustomed to the ebb and flow of adrenaline during the heat of a battle, but something about the tenderness of her touch and kiss just rooted him for a minute. Rouge was a lot of things as a lover, but tender wasn't something he'd have ever used to describe her. It shook him a little.

It was when Pixie caught his attention by turning and waving, her lips mouthing a thank you that he was jarred from his reverie and came slamming back to reality. Rouge was walking with her entourage like a silent, stalking predator. He supposed he could go back to his nest and keep on the lookout for her to come back out carting Niki. Whatever forces the Don and the Lawash smugglers had left would be focusing all their attention on trying to keep them in the estate. Then again, the Don had a sickening fetish for the Bull females and two more were walking willingly right into his lair…

Lukas holsters his pistols and trotted across the courtyard until he could put his hand on Rouge's shoulder, not to stop her, but to keep pace with her, "I'm coming with," he stated, "Trust me, you're gonna want a long range weapon when you get in there and I'm an expert at stealthy assassination."

Pixie did this strange little clap thing and hopped on the tips of her toes, "Yay!" she twittered, "Roary!" she pressed the den den mushi in her ear to talk, "The marine is coming with us!"

"10-4," came the Bull's laughing reply, "We've got it secure out here. Go in and get our girl out."

Rouge's head whipped around as she felt Lukas' heavy hand on her shoulder, prepared to reinforce her decision to retrieve Niki, but his words stayed her tongue. Her eyes flickered briefly over his face, deciding if he would prove to be a liability once things got more dangerous, but for some reason, she felt that he trusted her to be able to handle herself, and coming from a family where she'd had to fight for every ounce of freedom she had, regardless of dangers, this meant a lot to her. She felt warmth in the region of her heart, and doggedly ignored it as she straightened her shoulders and moved forward.

"Don't shoot the Don before I get a chance to rip his throat out," Rouge told Lukas with a bloodthirsty smile. Considering she had drops of blood on her face, it was quite the frightening impression, and Teddy gave an exaggerated shiver of fear next to her, holding back a smile as he rumbled in his deep voice, "Watch it, Marine. She's completely serious, and she'll use her dragons teeth to do it too."

Pixie let out a giggle and squeezed in between Lukas and Rouge to wrap her slender arm around the dragon's bared waist. "Be nice Teddy. Rouge just goes by instinct. It's sexy as hell," she winked up at Lukas and waggled her brows suggestively. Rouge suppressed a groan; it was obvious that everyone knew about her more...intimate...involvement with the vice admiral, and surprisingly no one seemed to be against it, except for Kugo, who remained vigilant in his dislike of Lukas, particularly when the rest of her nakama teased her about it.

"Enough, children. We have work to do," Rouge reminded them in a serious voice, but her eyes were dancing with humor. She checked her daggers at her waist and adjusted the leather fingerless gloves that protected her knuckles. "Time to kick more ass."

With a glance at Pixie to ensure that the small girl wouldn't get in the way, Rouge shifted her weight to her left foot, then lashed out with her right. The door before them slammed inwards, knocking out one of the guards on the other side and startling the other into almost dropping his weapon. Before he could cry out an alarm, Rouge shot forward and jammed her fist into his throat, cutting off his air. The guy stumbled back a step, gaping like a fish out of water, and Teddy stepped up and knocked him out with a quick jab to his temple. The guy crumbled to the ground ungracefully, and Rouge smirked.

"Where now?" Pixie asked, glancing down each end of the hallway. They could hear the boot steps of other guards in either direction.

Rouge stepped away from the group and lifted her chin, closing her eyes and taking in a deep, slow breath. She left her nostrils flare as she absorbed information about their surroundings. Eyes still closed, she moved her head from side to side and took little sniffs. Finally, she turned down the left, where Niki's scent was the strongest. "We go this way. She can't be far, but I can smell a lot of males near her." Rouge's voice was tight with fury, and her eyes shimmered iridescent blue. Without allowing anyone the chance to speak or act, Rouge threw her head back and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Niki! We're coming for you! And anyone in my way... You're a walking corpse!"

Her voice reverberated down the marble hallway, followed by an eerie silence as those within earshot heard the beast-like growl that was laced through her words and promised a painful death to those dumb enough to get in her way. Pixie turned wide, awestruck eyes on her, and grinned.

Ten minutes later, as the team crept down the intricate hallways, Lukas' neck still had shivers on it from the way Rouge's growl had echoed down the hallway. She was a machine and he was torn between finding it incredibly sexy and being a touch afraid of her. Well, afraid for the poor suckers they met on their path. The baddies literally shook in their boots when they saw her leading the brigade, gunning after them like an angel of death. Nothing stopped her and when Teddy had suggested that they make less noise to perhaps sneak up on their target, Rouge prompted whipped around a corner and took out two guards with as much yelling and stomping and bone-cracking noise as possible. It didn't seem to matter to her, apparently. She'd given those fuckers their warning already and it wasn't her fault if they still stood in her way.

Lukas trailed behind them, two long barreled Glocks in his hands with silencers attached. More than a few times, some dodgy guards decided to make use of all the distraction she was creating and tried to sneak up behind them. They were given some serious mouth-to-Glock resuscitation. He was leaving a trail of bodies behind them.

They were getting closer, he could tell and he wasn't sure if it was a good thing that the percentage of people that blocked their path was dwindling. Either they had taken them all out, most of them ran in fear or they were congesting their forces elsewhere for a bigger kaboom.

He was also beginning to feel something sinister on the very edges of his Haki. He'd only met Niki twice, both times very fleeting, but he knew instantly that the determination and bursting hope he felt flirting on the edge of his senses was hers. She was surrounded by men, all of whom were cloaked in malicious intent. He paused as a very blurry image swept through his mind, a quick spit of red, blue eyes and a gun shot…

"You okay, marine?"

Lukas shook his head as Pixie turned around, her brow cocked at him, "Ya. Fine. We're getting close now…"

Rouge nodded her head in agreement, her steps slowing to a stop as they approached another turn in the corridor. "Her scent is much stronger...she's in one of the rooms down this next turn." Rouge took a moment to slip one of the daggers free from her belt, and held it in her fist with the blade facing down. Her other hand remained empty and half-curled.

"We go in quick, assess where Niki is, and make our move. Our priority is to ensure her safety above all else, so hold off on the mass murdering until we have her safely in our hands," Rouge turned her head, focusing glowing blue eyes on each of their faces for their nods of assent, then swiftly took the corner.

There were five men stationed outside of the room she knew to contain her best friend. Rouge kept low and moved almost faster than the human eye could track, easily avoiding the bullets that went whizzing by her body. Two bodies went down before she even reached them-likely by Lukas' sniper bullets. Rouge took one down by practically tackling the man to the ground, followed by swiftly ramming the hilt of her dagger into his throat and crushing his larynx, effectively suffocating the man. Pixie, just as fast as Rouge, took down the other two as she suddenly appeared next to them, jabbed her tiny fingers into deadly and debilitating pressure points, and then disappearing just as quickly.

Rouge had the most pity for them, because they didn't even know what hit them before _they_ hit the ground.

Rouge didn't even give them a chance to catch their breath. She was on her feet and facing the door before Teddy and Lukas had even caught up to them. Pixie went to go open the door, but Rouge brushed by her, lifted one booted foot, and kicked the door down with enough force to send the door flying off its hinges and crash right into one man standing nearby.

Pixie had to stifle a laugh. "You're getting better at that. Next time you might take the doorframe with it," she commented lightly as she hopped in after Rouge. The Pixie came to an abrupt halt as her bright eyes landed on the scene in the room. Rouge stood two feet in front of her, body shaking with silent fury.

There were about thirty men in the room, located at various locations. Twenty of them ringed the other ten located at the far end of the room, where there was a bed, a throne of sorts, a dining table, and a lavish wash stand with an alabaster pitcher and matching bowl. The room had curtains and carpets and finery that cost quite a pretty penny, and smuggler's would know. Before the furniture was a tall golden pole that went from the ceiling to the floor, and attached to the pole by a thick golden chain ending in a sea-stone collar was Niki.

She wore only a golden, jewel-encrusted thong, and her long mane of red was secured above her head, though several unruly strands had broken free to frame her incredibly pale face and eyes too wide for her face. She was much thinner than she used to be, and Rouge's keen eye could see that the woman's hands were shaking from weakness. She was on her knees, and the Don stood above her holding a whip, and the angry red lines across Niki's back showed that he'd used it recently. Besides the lashes, Niki's wrists and ankles were bruised and mottled from much chaffing, and she had the odd bruise and cut along the rest of her body, though none on her face.

"I told you...that she...would come," Niki rasped, and despite her condition, there was a note of defiance and victory in her voice. Rouge could also detect the relief that she was struggling to hide. She lifted her head to sneer at the Don, and the man's face turned purple in anger as his beedy eyes flashed from Rouge to Niki and back.

Rouge's body went rigid, and suddenly tongues of flames started licking up the sides of her legs, along her arms, flickering over her whole body. Her eyes glowed a fierce blue, and when she opened her mouth, long fangs elongated into sharp points. "You have committed a crime that cannot ever be forgiven. You will atone for this sin with your life," she hissed, and the sound was part dragon, part woman. By the time she'd finished speaking, her whole body had shifted to her hybrid form.

The Don visibly paled, taking a step back involuntarily, but Niki's triumphant grin as she looked back to her best friend seemed to snap him from his reverie. He tightened his fist and let out a growl. Before Rouge could act, he flipped the whip around and pushed a small button that was in the bottom of the whip.

Suddenly the floor below them opened up as two trapdoors swung downwards, exposing a gaping whole that encompassed the entire space in front of the door and to the sides by five feet, extending into the room by fifteen feet. Pixie let out a sharp cry as she plunged down...into a huge tank of seawater. Rouge managed to scoop up enough air with her wings to avoid the fall, but she'd barely managed to clear the floor level when a heavy net suddenly came down from the ceiling above, catching her by surprise and dragging her down into the water with the rest of them.

Before her head went under, she let loose a shriek of rage so sharp and loud that the men in the room shivered with fear and glanced at each other nervously. Rouge heard Niki's cry of dismay before the water blocked out the sounds from above, and the net dragged her under.

It had taken his brain a moment to play catch up with what he had been seeing before the floor dropped out from underneath him and he and his teammates plunged into the cool seawater. He'd rushed into the room behind Rouge and was so focused on the search-and-rescue mission that when he'd seen the set up Niki was in, there had been a moment of blank shock in his brain. Trying to go from the adrenaline rush of killing people to processing that a beautiful woman who was your girlfriend's best friend was tied to a golden pole, wearing nothing but a jeweled golden thong and on display like some prized animal was a hard pill to swallow. All he could picture was Rouge on display like that, in the next room over and how he would move the heavens to free her from that awful shame and pain…

Then the floor went out from underneath him and with a gasp and a rush of air, he plunged into the cold water with a splash. Immediately, he flashed his eyes open and at Pixie and Teddy, the salty water burning his eyes. The behemoth of a man had already grabbed the small teenager up in his iron arms and was pulling her to the surface. Lukas shot for the surface and came up with a gasp, yanking the hat and mask of his face to let the air flow more freely. Then, just as he was getting his bearings, a shrill screech rendered the air, only to be cut short with a sharp gasp as he was splashed with water and a weighted net rained down over them.

So many things seemed to be happening at once, his thoughts not able to keep up as fast as his body as he went into red alert mode. Above them, the doors pulled shut with a metallic bang that mixed with Pixie's screech of Rouge's name. He whipped around in the water, tangled in the net to see Rouge sinking like a stone into the seawater that was her wolf's bane. His adrenal gland gave him a proverbial fuck you as he immediately attempted to dive down to retrieve her, only to be ensnared by the net that seemed to be falling all around him. For one, heart-stopping moment, he tried to detangle himself and find the edge, but frustration rose swiftly and easily. The weights attached to the edges of the net made it nearly impossible to pull up and his eyes skittered between Teddy and Pixie who were also frantically tugging at the net to Rouge who was struggling in vain. If only he had…

That's right! He reached down and into his boot for the knife he had stashed in there. He never actually thought that he'd be in any kinda emergency that merited its use, but he'd been in the marines far too long to be the guy that took those kinds of risks. With quick, precise movements, Lukas sliced through the rope and within seconds, freed himself of the net and wormed his way over to Pixie and Teddy to cut them free.

"Rouge!" she shrieked, her already high voice singing soprano in her panic, "Get Rouge!"

She was sitting at the bottom of the pool and even through the ten or so feet of water, he could see that she was down for the count. Lukas took a deep breath and dove towards her. Something moved in the corner of his eye. In the very bottom of the tank, a small hatch opened and two divers came out and swam straight towards Rouge. He swore in little air bubbles as they brandished sea stone shackles. He pushed his arms and legs faster. The divers didn't even see him, so focused on trying to get Rouge that he was able to sneak right up on the first one. He ripped the breathing tube away from the first one, pulled out a gun and took aim. Unfortunately, these particular weapons were not the underwater kind and only had a deadly accuracy of about two feet. Fortunately, he was pretty much on top of the guys anyway so getting them both between the eyes was nothing. And he was so quick about it that they still had a surprised look on their dead faces.

He shoved the two divers back through the hatch and took a breath out of the tube he stole. Then, he wound an arm around her and underneath her breasts with her back to his front and kicked hard for the surface.

He broke the surface with a gasp and yanked Rouge above too. Her head lolled back against his shoulder, her breathing slow, barely conscious. But she'd live. It might even be better for the moment for her to be out like she was. Conscious and kicking and she would be irate.

Careful to keep her head and shoulders out of the water, he rotated around to assess their surroundings briefly. Trapped in a dimly lit dungeon filled with water. At any moment, more divers could come out of the hatch at the bottom and overwhelm them. Teddy and Pixie swam over to him.

"You okay? Is she okay?" Pixie asked, her eyes wide and almost too big for her little face and her bottom lip was blue from cold.

"She'll live," Lukas replied, turning his attention to Rouge. He grabbed her face and gave her a little shake, "Hey! Wake up, Rouge." He tapped her cheek insistently, alternating between giving her head little shakes and tapping her cheek and forehead. She gave a little groan and rolled her head from one side to the other, her eyelids flickering, but her eyes still rolled back in her head. Progress, though, "Rouge. Come on, snap out've it," he jostled her body a little before going back to tapping her face and shaking her.

From the moment her head was dragged under by the inevitable weight of the net, Rouge lost the ability to keep track of what was transpiring. She mostly lost consciousness as her struggles to free herself became weaker and weaker as the sea water drained her of her strength and forced her back into her much weaker human form. Her struggle to remain conscious resulted only in a dim understanding that someone was swimming down from the surface towards her, and that the bright light from the room upstairs was becoming dimmer and dimmer, but she couldn't discern if that was her eyes closing or the trapdoor.

Suddenly, her head was above water, and Rouge knew she'd lost a chunk of time while submerged. She was aware that someone was smacking her face, though not enough to hurt, and the sting actually helped her pull her foggy brain back together just enough to process what was going on. Her eyes finally opened, though barely, and she swept the room to see the dim forms of Teddy and Pixie, the latter being supported by the former as they tread water. She could feel the warmth of a firm body behind her, and assumed it was Lukas, also likely the person who had revived her.

"Get...Niki..." Rouge mumbled as she struggled to form coherent thoughts while feeling like a limp, weak noodle. While her head and shoulders were out of water, the rest of her was still sub,merged and she had absolutely no ability to move at this point. Getting her lips and tongue to form whole sentences seemed monumentally impossible, even as her tired brain struggled to form a plan to get out of here.

Teddy's dark eyes lingered on Rouge a moment, assessing her health in the dim light provided by the small lights that glowed on the walls of the tank near the bottom, presumably to allow the divers to retrieve their prizes. "More will come, not just for Rouge but also for Pixie. The Don has a weakness for all females, especially those in power like the women of the Inner Circle."

Pixie let out a squeak and turned wide eyes up to the much larger man, her little legs moving frantically under the water, "What? Me?! But...but..."

Teddy interrupted the small girl, "We will not allow that to happen. Can you support yourself?" The black man's voice was deep and echoed on the cold stone walls of their prison.

"Yes, why?" Pixie asked, her voice still pitched high from panic, but it was obvious she was making an effort to tone it down.

"Stay here." Teddy ordered, releasing the girl and swimming back a foot. He waited a moment to see if Pixie truly could support herself, then gave a brief nod and submerged himself under the water. Swimming in long, strong strokes, he dove for the very bottom of the tank. There was more light at the very bottom, and he used this light to investigate the hatch that had produced the divers only moments ago. Pixie watched, holding her breath in anticipation, as the large man first tried to pry it open, then used his strong legs to try and break through. Finally he ran out of air, and resurfaced.

Pulling in a deep lungful of air, Teddy ignored the group that was openly and expectantly staring at him and turned his eyes up to the dark trapdoor above. He remained quiet as he studied it, until finally Pixie swam over to him, her face pinched and irritated, "Well?!" she demanded, latching onto his strong shoulders with her small shaking fingers.

Teddy was silent still for another moment, his eyes flickering over to Rouge and studying the barely conscious woman. Rouge hadn't moved or spoken since her first words, conserving what little strength she had left for when it was truly needed, should the divers return. She returned his stare with as much gusto as she could, and tried to engage her brain to think like him and figure out what he was intending.

"Lukas, you will have to get Rouge completely out of the water long enough for her to recover enough strength to shift. When she does, she can blast her way out of the trapdoor using her fire and her wings. I will go below and you will stand on my shoulders in order to allow you to hoist her up out of the water. With out combined height, you should be able to get her out," Teddy's deep baritone voice resounded through the small room with command, his statement a clear order rather than a request. With Rouge unable to take the lead, Teddy naturally stepped up and assumed responsibility for the group. "I will use the breathing tube from the divers, and you should be able to keep your head above the water."

Pixie let out a gasp, her eyes lighting up with hope for the first time since they'd fallen into this well-laid trap. "That's a great idea!" She spun around in the water, pining Rouge with those bright eyes. "You can do that, right Rouge?" she asked, the tone of her voice suggesting she had no doubts about the matter.

Rouge's brain took a little longer to process the plan that she liked, but when she finally understood what Teddy intended, she nodded her head weakly. "Yes. Yes, good. Let's...let's do it." Her words sounded like they were coming from someone so damned drunk they could barely get their mouth to function, but at least she was comprehensible.

Teddy nodded his head firmly, looking from Rouge up to Lukas. "There is no time to waste. We must hurry. Pixie, you will be responsible for getting Rouge up and shifted." Pixie nodded with determination clear on her face as she set her small little shoulders in a straight line.

Without waiting for Lukas' input, the large man simply took the breathing tube from the vice admiral and dove below, kicking his strong legs until he'd reached the bottom, then extended his hands up towards Lukas's feet. Simultaneously, Pixie pushed towards Lukas and piped up, "I'll help support you so that you can get Rouge out of the water."

Teddy dove into the water and Lukas shifted, tugging Rouge's dead weight along with him until he was in a position to hoist himself up on the large man's shoulders. Pixie floated right behind him and at a nod from her – though he wasn't entirely convinced as to how much help her 100 pounds were going to do against his 200 – he planted his feet and used all the strength in his legs to stand. He held Rouge to him with one hand and braced his second hand against the wall until he felt balanced. The water danced around his hips, teasing his navel.

"Alright, show time," he said, cradling Rouge with one arm behind her shoulders and the other behind her knees, successfully getting her out of the water, "Come on, baby, get it together and blast a hole outta here."

"Come on, Rouge!" Pixie cheered, tilting her head up to look, "We need you to get Niki!"

It was like getting numb fingers to function; Rouge felt stiff and uncoordinated at first, as if she was really really drunk, but as the water sluiced off of her and dripped down over Lukas and back into the pool, she started to feel her senses come back to her.

"Let's go Dragon, let's go Dragon!" Pixie cheered, waving one of her little hands in the air and holding the other one up to cup near her lips.

Rouge deliberately brought up the picture of Niki before she'd been pulled down into this hole, and the anger that blazed through her gave her the extra kick she needed to shift. She let out a low growl first, then her skin rippled uncertainly, like a car that hesitated to start, then with a hiss of victory, her wings burst forth, horns curled back from her forehead, and scales erupted over her flesh.

Rouge pulled in a breath and stretched her wings out as best she could without knocking Lukas out with them, then gave them an experimental flap to test her strength. Rusty at first, then with more confidence, Rouge nodded her head firmly and tilted her face towards Lukas. The determination and fire was back in her blue eyes, making them glow eerily in the dim room. "I got this. We're getting Niki, and then we're getting the _fuck_ out of here after I tear the Don to little shreds with my bare claws."

Letting out a huff that was more growl than anything, Rouge gave a much more powerful thrust with her wings, and managed to lift herself above Lukas and into the air. For a moment, as the lingering affects of the sea water made her head spin, she thought she might lose the altitude she'd gained, but all she had to do was picture Niki again and she was able to propel herself towards the sealed trap doors.

"Don! You're going to wish you'd never been born after I'm done with you, you filthy fuckhead," Rouge half roared, half screamed as she gained momentum. She quickly turned her head back down and shouted, "Get below the water!" Only three feet from the top, she saw Pixie tug Lukas under, and let her fire loose.

Rouge's mouth pulled open and a tremendous fire burst forth with more force than a canon and far hotter than the average fire. Angry dragon fire was so powerful that the flames burned almost white, and Rouge was completely immune to the heat. Or, rather, the heat was comforting to his dragon's skin, like being enveloped in warm cotton.

But there was nothing soft about this conflagration. The heat hit the ceiling and spread out like a mushroom, but within seconds the whole room was filled with roaring flames above the water, and the heat had nowhere to go. Rouge was less than a foot from the top when the trapdoors burst open from the force of the heat and flames, and she shot out with a triumphant scream, her eyes glowing blue and flames wrapped around her body like a shroud of hell.

Two men were standing close to Niki, hands out to touch her, instantly jumped back in alarm. Two or three men gave out yelps like little girls, and the Don lost all color in his face as he slumped back in his 'throne.' Rouge flapped her wings hard, drawing the flames out of the room below to allow her friends to surface. Then she landed on the very lip of the destroyed trap door opening, and shifted again, this time to her full dragon form. Her long, strong tail slid down into the opening, and provided an escape rope for Pixie, Lukas, and Teddy, while her glaring dragon eyes were focused evilly on the shirking Don.

"More guards! Kill her! I don't care about capturing her anymore, _kill_ her!" the Don screamed frantically. Niki fell to the ground from the heat that made her weak knees unable to stand, and stared up at Rouge with a sort of worship in her eyes that only increased Rouge's rage that the Don could bring her so low.

"Bring as many as you want, Don...they won't be able to keep me from tearing your limps off with pure relish," Rouge hissed, and her dragon's voice rumbled through the room with cold intent made all the more ominous by the heat that continued to radiate away from the dissipating flames.

Once the sea water sluiced off of her, it was like new life had been born into her again. No longer did she have that drowned cat look about her anymore, but her eyes lit up with little fires in them, like the fire inside her was blossoming. As soon as those wings unfurled and her skin did that little flip over to dragon scales, she practically scrambled up and over him as she gained altitude.

She promised death and dismemberment to the Don and he matched her feral grin, "Remind me not to piss you off," he winked and then she jumped up and practically attached herself to the door.

"Get down!" she yelled and before he could even process to react, Pixie yanked his ankle and he tumbled rather ungracefully into the water. The little girl held him down and above him, the water glowed orange and white as fire filled the room. He could feel the heat against his face even through the water. There was a groan and rasp of metal and a hard vibration through the water and suddenly, the fire was sucked up through the opening like a vacuuming and Pixie let go of him and the two of them plus Teddy surfaced to a disaster.

The metal trap door was warped and burning, flaming chunks falling into the pool. It looked like a bomb went off and topping off the gaping wound in the ceiling was Rouge in her full dragon glory. Bluish black, like a shadow of death, her growl reverberated through his bones and chest. Her long, elegant tail curled down into the destruction and Pixie got her bearings about her first. She winked at him, gave him a salute and dashed up the scales like she'd done it a million times. Lukas rolled his eyes and followed her, not quite as swiftly, as he was weighted down by more weaponry. That little girl was something else. Silly and adorable, for a criminal.

He surfaced on Rouge's back and his sharp hawk-eyes quickly assessed the situation. Men were pouring out of the woodwork, from doors that were nestled in the four corners of each room. Where the Don had been hiding such reinforcements, he didn't know but all he could think was had this many people been out in the courtyard from the start, getting to this point in the game would have been a lot more difficult. Clearly, the Don knew that he couldn't stop Rouge, so he kept his best forces for when she did arrive.

The Don's eyes flickered over Pixie as she stood on Rouge's forehead, her little hands wrapped around her dark horns to Lukas and the moment a slow grin came over his twisted face, Lukas groaned inwardly.

"Well, this is an interesting development. Dragon, I didn't know you were fraternizing with missing Vice Admirals these days. How much to you think the marines would pay for your dead body and his well-being? A handsome sum, I'd imagine…" the Don seemed to gain back some of the bravado that Rouge's dragon fangs had previously taken away. Lukas cursed that he'd been foolish enough to take his mask off in the water.

All the same, he pulled out two Glocks, "Talk like that and I'll kill you before she does," he growled, pulling the hammers back with his thumbs.

The Don's wicked eyes flitted over Lukas' weapons, Rouge's face, up to Pixie and back over Lukas' shoulder to Teddy, "Kill them all!" he demanded, "Kill them, but don't touch the Vice Admiral. I want him for ransom."

About fifty or so guards cocked the hammers back on all their guns and he knew it was only seconds before pandemonium erupted. Even still, the vision slashed across his mind, staggering his senses for just a minute. A single shot heard in suspended animation, blood erupting from someone's torso then a flash of purple eyes, wide with shock…

"Pixie!" he shouted as bullets rained down on them, ricocheting off of Rouge's hard-as-diamonds flank. Pixie flipped off of Rouge's head, straight into the fray, turning her eyes only briefly to him when he shouted her name. Then. The shot. Among hundreds, it sounded the loudest to him, the only one that mattered. Everything else dimmed in comparison. He saw it, twisting, smoking from the barrel it just came out of. He lifted his gun, shot the offender and pushed off his toes and linebacked Pixie into the floor. She gasped as his weight nearly crushed her, her hands braced against his chest.

"What are you _doing_ , marine?" she screeched as he popped himself off her. Both of them looked down between their bodies at the same time. Blood saturated her top and another gasp issued from her lips. It took a solid heartbeat for either of them to realize whose blood it was.

Guess there was only so much blood the material of his shirt could hide before it soaked through.

"Lukas!" Pixie's voice pitched high in panic as his right hand shot to his left flank to apply pressure to the burning area. She tried to help him, but he brushed her hands off.

"I'm fine!" he insisted, his voice a little rough, "Missed vital organs. Are you alright?"

"Yes! But you're gonna bleed out!" he could hear the hysterics rising in her.

"No, I won't…" he bit out.

"Idiots!" the Don's voice echoed from across the room, "I'll told you to leave the Vice Admiral be!"

The shot rang out, and became distinct in the way Lukas moved. Rouge was instantly alert, eyes narrowed, body tensed, unsure of what was about to happen. Everything tumbled so fast and suddenly, Lukas and Pixie were on the ground, and there was blood. A lot of blood.

Time slowed, and Rouge registered on a logical level that the shooter that had done this was dead. Just as logically, her brain deduced that this had happened because of the Don, and that Lukas was in big trouble right now. His status made him an even bigger target than the Black Bull Smugglers.

Her nostrils flared and the pupils of her eyes contracted into thin slits as the irises blazed blue. Like a feral animal, her jaw snapped audibly, and she let loose a screech so load that even Pixie had to cover her ears and wince. Fire danced over her scales, erupting from the sparks of anger that flickered over the hard, black surface. Teddy had long abandoned her flank, and unburdened by those she cared about nearby, Rouge rose to her full height and let loose another roar, deafening and frightening.

The Don almost wet himself.

"Seastone javelins! Take her down!" He screeched at his guards. Niki trembled ever so slightly, but remained crouching by the pole that chained her to the ground, her eyes calm and a small smile playing over her lips, some of her old sass sparking in her eyes.

Rouge practically laughed in their faces as projectiles of all kinds, some seastone, others regular steel, came flying at her. She let go a belch of fire in quick, short bursts, easily disrupting the force of the projectiles and casting them aside harmlessly.

Then she simply exploded into action. Her wings flared, swept, and jabbed, her claws raked the air viciously, her tail flung people across the whole room. She was very careful to avoid those on her side, and tried not to show that she was favoring her wounded shoulder. The blood trickling from it was impossible to see through the flames and against the black of her scales.

Within moments, she'd swept through the entire room, and took out every single guard until only the Don remained. Those guards still alive and conscious were not taking even a step towards her, and stared at her with fear in their wide eyes.

Rouge swept her noble bulk forward, and shifted mid-stride until she shrank down to her sleek, hybrid form. Her stride took her right to Niki. Without taking her eyes off of the immobilized Don, Rouge picked up the chain, held it in front of her face, and blew a stream of white-hot fire over the gold until the chain, softened by the heat, simply tore in half like hard putty.

"Teddy," Rouge asked in a soft voice that conveyed a command all the same. The tall black man dropped the guard he'd been finishing off, and strode towards Rouge with all the speed his long legs could carry him. Then he quickly reached down and scooped Niki up with ease. He turned away from the dragon woman, feeling the heat radiating off her body, and indicated with his chin to Pixie to move towards the door.

Pixie tugged at Lukas' sleeve, eyes locked on Niki as she propelled them towards the door.

Rouge continued her slow stride towards the Don, letting the man's fear sink in and fester. When she was still three feet away, she suddenly shot forward, her claws impacting with the throne right next to the man's head. He squeaked, and tried to pull the gun up from his lap, where it had been concealed among the rich brocades donning his body. Rouge didn't even pause, she whipped the gun out of his hand and away from them until it clattered against the floor several yards away. "This is what awaits those who put their filthy hands on my nakama." Rouge whispered harshly, then slit his throat with her claws.

Blood spurted, and Rouge blinked her eyes, but didn't flinch away. When she felt the life drain out of the Don, she released him, and took a step back, her hard eyes soaking in the scene of the Don, sagging in his throne and soaked in his own blood. She could have been crueler in killing him, but as much as she'd wanted his death, she was a merciful person. A quick death worked for her.

Letting out a breath, her shoulders easing as if days of tension and worry had slid off of them, Rouge turned on her heel, and ran for the door, catching up with Lukas, Pixie, Teddy, and Niki. Her eyes were locked squarely on her best friend, and worry replaced the cold edge that had been in place during her massacre. Teddy had removed his shirt and wrapped it around Niki like a blanket, covering her exposed flesh.

Niki smiled wanely, and said, "I'm fine, Rouge...stop looking at me like that. Let's just get the fuck outta here and never come back."

Rouge was quiet a moment, as if she couldn't get passed what could have been done to her best friend, struggled with the guilt that she hadn't ended the man's like earlier, and finally pushed it all out of her mind and nodded her head. "Let's go home," she whispered, and moved back until she could shift into her full dragon form. She'd long taken the room down with her rage, so she intended to just fly the hell outta dodge, and get Niki into Roary's waiting hands. Then she could get the care she needed.

 _A few days ago: Vice Admiral Knowles Lukas_ _' Ship._

Despite the Marines having been face-lifted and renovated over the last couple of decades, some individuals with more seedy morals still came through in the ranks. They would come across as brutal and fair, much like Vice Admiral Lukas came off, but inside, they were rotten and dripping with malice. The world was always filled with people like that, people who life shit on a lot and they didn't know how to come back from it so they took it out on those around them.

Vice Admiral Ore Leifen was one of those people. More aged and experienced, his career in the Marines had seemed halted at Vice Admiral. The glass ceiling prevented him from stepping up that one more rung to Admiral. While he was good at what he did, it was that darker, slightly more sinister side of him that kept the Fleet Admiral from promoting him. And the rumors around headquarters that Vice Admiral Knowles was slotted to be next Admiral really rubbed him raw.

"Vice Admiral, sir!" Captain Sethe Jahzara and her team still manned Lukas' ship while he was indisposed. She became a sort of adjunct commander of the ship, making sure it ran tight in Lukas' absence, "What can my team do for you today, sir?"

Leifen waved through the soldiers, "The Fleet Admiral has instructed me to take over Knowles' case load. I've come to collect his files."

Though outwardly, Captain Jahzara was steady, inwardly, she balked a little. Had she put that file away? Yes, of course she had. She wouldn't have stupidly left something like that out, "Of course, sir. I'll go fetch you the files myself." She turned to leave.

"Don't trouble yourself, captain," Leifen smiled, "I know where his office is. Head back to your duties."

"Sir, the office door is locked."

His eyes narrowed, but his smile remained, "Why on earth have you locked it?"

"We had a chore girl in there cleaning just a week or so ago, sir and she spilled a few files to the floor. It took me some hours to fit them back together so now we lock the door to keep people from making careless mistakes like that," the lie slipped out of her so easily it shocked her. In fact, the truth was she locked the door the moment she placed _that_ file back in his desk so no one else would find it, per Fleet Admiral orders. Not that she should be thinking such things, but she couldn't help but feel suspicious. The Fleet Admiral strictly ordered that no one find or hear about the case that Lukas was investigating before his disappearance, so why was Vice Admiral Ore suddenly coming in to take over case loads? No, that was wrong of her to question this, "I'll unlock the door for you, sir."

"Very good, captain."

She led him to the office and without seeming like she was, she positioned her body between his and the door to carefully unlock it, "Just give me a moment, sir and I'll retrieve the files for you," she insisted again.

He laughed and instead of the sound easing her, it made all the hair on the back of her neck stand up, "My, my, captain, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were hiding something vile in this room that you didn't want me to see. The Vice Admiral can't have so many skeletons in his closets. He's still green behind the ears." And he pushed passed her and swept into the office.

Her eyes followed him and adjusted to the dim light of the office and she cursed the day she was born. There. Resting right on top of the filing cabinet was _the_ file. She remembered now. In the midst of putting it away, someone had called her attention away and she locked the door behind her and hadn't come back since. _Baka_! It would only be moments now before he saw it. Could she sneak in and grab it, perhaps? Convince him it's hers?

As Leifen started pulling open drawers and handling pens on the desk like he was investigating, she carefully followed him in. He flickered his eyes up to her and then back to what he was doing, "So, how long now has it been since Knowles went missing?"

 _One month, three weeks, four days and about sixteen hours, but who was counting?_ "Umm, like two months now, sir," she answered, walking over to the file cabinet. She carefully grabbed the file, tucked it under her arm and opened the top drawer, "Here, sir, these were the open cases he was investigating."

He walked over to her, "What is that you have there, captain?" he asked.

Her blood pressure rose, "This? I must've left it last time I was in here, sir. Something that the Fleet Admiral gave me," she brushed it off.

"Oh? May I take a look?"

She balked, openly this time, "Ah, well, sir, it's classified…"

He smiled again, that one that made her feel worse, "Well, it's a good thing I'm your senior ranking officer. Let's have a look at this important thing the Fleet Admiral gave you…"

"Sir, I really must insist…"

He leaned closer to her and bless her, she stood her ground like the good soldier she was, "I'll tell you something, Captain Sethe. This whole ship smells like a lie. There's some horseshit around here and I can smell it. I know that Knowles' disappearance has to do with the Dragon Smuggler and the buzz in the Smuggling Ring recently has me suspicious. I want her file and I suspect that you have it right in your hands."

Jahzara was frozen for a heartbeat. What did Ore know? There was no way he knew what she knew about this situation. No way he knew the Dragon was in fact Portgas D. Rouge, no way he saw how Lukas was acting with the Dragon the day before his disappearance. The whole of the marines believed he was being held hostage by her because he had been investigating her case; no one knew that it was probably because he discovered her identity. And Jahzara hadn't shared with anyone her woman's intuition that something clandestine was going on. But there was no denying it that he knew she was hording the file in her hands. Reluctantly, she handed it over and stepped back away from him.

Ore tore into the file and laid it flat on Lukas' desk. His eyes scanned rapidly, then he smiled, closed the file and stood straight, "I'll be letting the Fleet Admiral know that you were withholding this information. There will be consequences, captain," he grinned at her and she just nodded, not wanting to say that the Fleet Admiral already knew.

He headed for the door of the office before stopping suddenly and turning to face her again, "And tell your navigator to set course for Sabaody. Something fishy is going on with the smuggling rings and I want your team there."

She nodded and saluted him, her heart in her stomach, "Yes, sir."

 _Present Time: Don_ _'_ _s Estate._

He'd lost a lot of blood.

Funny, he was certain the bullet didn't hit any vital organs, so he'd live at least, but there was a good little puddle going. Pixie helped him rip off the other sleeve of his shirt to wrap around his torso as pressure and a tourniquet. It worked okay, but his vision was getting a little blotchy on the edges. She kept muttering 'thank yous' to him and 'I'm sorrys' as she insisted on helping him move to the side of the room while Rouge cleaned house.

Then, when it came down to the very end, Rouge freed Niki and handed her off to Teddy and the subtle nod she gave to Pixie was her cue, he supposed. The little girl stood and grabbed the hem of his shirt to encourage him without words to come with her but he planted his feet.

"No. I want to make sure he dies," he growled.

When the blood spurted and Rouge was covered in it, the vision should have bothered him. It should have bothered him that she was capable of that, she was his enemy, a criminal where he was a marine and under a different alignment of fate, she would have done the same thing to him. And yet, all he felt was satisfaction for her.

Pixie must've been guilt-ridden or something because she tried to encourage him to use her as a crutch and he delicately brushed her sentiment away. He'd been shot before; this wasn't his first rodeo.

They all clambered onto Rouge's back and she took off into the sky through the hole she'd long since created during her crusade. Outside, the courtyards were quieter, but he could hear something in the distance. As Rouge headed to the rendezvous point to drop off Niki with Roary, Lukas gingerly dug out the scope on his sniper rifle and tuned it.

Marines. Squads of them. Heading towards the estate.

He shifted so that he could speak to Rouge without the others really hearing or listening, "Rouge, hundreds of Marines are headed this way. Let's drop off Niki, Teddy and Pixie with the Bull and then you and I can decoy the Marines away so that they can escape. We can't let them see the Bull or the mystery of smuggling ring will be uncovered."

Rouge had already spotted the marines, and decided to fly even higher, letting the night cloak her form as much as possible. She swerved and took a roundabout way to where Roary said was waiting for them. Pixie relayed their incoming position to Roary using her com set.

Within moments, Rouge glided down at the edge of the grove and watched as Roary's body guards rushed out. Teddy and Pixie slid off, Teddy carrying Niki, and headed towards the building not too far away where Roary was sure to be waiting.

"We're going to draw the marines in the opposite direction. Get our people out of here," Rouge called to Teddy, and the man gave a curt nod, turning his head to give her a look that warned her to be careful. Rouge didn't answer, instead she pushed off from the ground once more, and flew towards the estate. She flew in low this time, letting many people see her as she glided across the front of the estate and then into the city, drawing a large portion of the marines in her direction as they caught sight of her.

Rouge's eyes moved from the estate, where she saw their forces retreating, then back to the marines, and glinted with anticipation. She was tired, exhausted really, but she always had a fight left in her.

She glided down among the buildings, then shifted a couple of feet above the ground. She hit the ground running, with Lukas coming to his feet behind her. "Let's lead them into a maze of streets," Rouge suggested, and took off towards the nearest alley that moved away from the encroaching forces of marines.

Now that she was in her human form, it was obvious her shoulder was bleeding pretty bad. Her eyes had lingered on his reddening bandaged wrapped around him with worry, but she couldn't stop to do anything right now. She had to lead the marines away, then escape.

It began simple. They dropped off Niki, Teddy and Pixie at the meeting point and explained their plan to be decoys. Then, Rouge took off, diving low over the estate so that as many Marines as possible saw her despite the dark and using his scope, he watched as the commanders started ordering their people to leave the estate and follow them. It was working like a dream.

Amid the streets, Rouge shifted and he landed behind her, flinching when the impact of his boots hitting the ground jarred his wound. He could see now that her shoulder was bleeding profusely and he was still losing tablespoons of blood every couple of minutes. They were a right pair.

"Come on," he grabbed her hand, "I know these streets like the back of my hand."

He led the way down one alley, then a side street, then another alley. He turned on his Haki hard, allowing his senses to tell him where the marines were going to be before they committed down a street. And it was working. Every few minutes, the Marine would lose sight of them and then, there'd be silence before someone shouted, "There they are! The Dragon and her accomplice!"

It was like a game of chess, with Lukas predicting moves ahead in the game depending on where the marines were. He darted into an alley. The marines were coming from the other end, but that was okay because he suddenly whipped around a corner to a very narrow slice between two buildings.

That was where he made the mistake.

He sensed them approaching the end of the narrow street and he tugged at Rouge to backtrack. There was a little time… there was a fire escape back in the first alley they could use to get on the roofs again. And it was a clear run from there.

"We've got them! There they are!"

Back in the main alley, forces came at them from both sides and Lukas swung around to grab the fire escape when he heard it. The thundering of boots across the roof, the cocking of guns. He turned to the narrow alley and the other side was teaming with marines. All four routes of escape were blocked.

It was checkmate.

"It's the Dragon! We've got them!" as the Marine surrounded them, Lukas threw his arm out and ushered her behind him as he whipped his eyes and body around, looking for an opening. His heart raced. This was it. Over. About a hundred soldiers surrounded them, more than half with guns trained on them.

Then the ripple began. What had started as a victory rumbling quickly hushed and a sinking feeling drained through him. The mask! His identity was compromised!

"It's the Vice Admiral!"

"Vice Admiral Knowles!"

"We found him!"

Vice Admiral!"

This was the moment. That one moment that had been a serious occupation on both their minds for days, weeks even. The moment of the proverbial handshake of farewell, the post-coitus note of 'it's been fun', the dismissive wave of sayonara. Funny, he didn't ever picture it going down quite like this.

"My, my. What a surprise! And here I was, partially believing that everyone was full of shit thinking we'd find the missing Vice Admiral with the Dragon."

Lukas turned, a cold chill racing up his spine. Parting the crowd with more swag than he was merited was Vice Admiral Ore Leifen. Lukas hated that fucker. He thought the world owed it to him and he had an unprejudiced hatred towards the Straw Hat Pirates. And he was always looking to stick it to Lukas.

Reflexively, Lukas reached his hand down to cover the butt of his gun. He had a feeling that something was very wrong and the presence of Ore did nothing to assuage that feeling.

Ore made a show of looking at his watch, "Alright, I'd like to clean this thing up real quick-like, boys. Portgas D. Rouge, you're under arrest. Vice Admiral, you can go ahead and hand her right over to me. I'll take it from here."

For one heart-stopping moment, everything slowed down. It took him a minute to process the consequence of what he just heard. _Portgas D. Rouge_ _…?_ Most of the color drained from his face as he turned his head slightly to glance at her. Portgas D. Rouge… he'd heard that correctly, didn't he? Going by the look on her face, he had. That was it. She was compromised.

"Knowles, I'm waiting. That woman is a sin to society and she needs to be put down." Ore's voice sounded impatient and far away.

Weeks ago, had he been asked the same question, he wouldn't have blinked an eye to hand her over. But the more time he'd spent with her, the distinction to do what was right by his career and what was right by his mind blurred. And now it came down to the grindstone. Would he turn her in, the woman he loved or hang up nearly twenty years of character building and career for her?

The choice was clear and loud and he didn't even hesitate to make it. Within the span of a heartbeat, he had two Glocks out, cocked back and aimed one at the Vice Admiral and one off to the other side of him, covering his bases.

"No one touches her," he growled low, so feral that a few of the soldiers closest to him actually stuttered a little bit, the barrels of their rifles dropping slightly.

Rouge lacked the observation haki she knew Lukas relied on as they wove their way through the back streets of one of Saobody's groves, so she didn't see their mouse-trap closing until it was too late. Her hackles rose only moments before it became apparent that there was no easy means of escape, even via the sky, what with the marines lining the roofs.

They were surrounded.

A prickle of panic sparked in her chest, and her eyes darted around frantically, seeking a hole, but she'd never come this close to capture by the government. Not only that, but she was exhausted and heavily wounded, so fighting her way out was definitely not the safest option at the moment.

Well, at least she wouldn't have to worry about Lukas. He was a marine; they wouldn't hurt him. He'd get treated like a kidnapping victim being manipulated by the enemy, and she'd be carted off to impel down, or worse.

And then the _worse_ got infinitely _more worse_ when a high-ranking marine stepped forward, and called her _Portgas D. Rouge_. What little color remained in her face drained away, and her eyes fled from this marine's face to Lukas' and back. It was obvious that Lukas was just as surprised as she, meaning the marines had figured out who she was without getting it directly from him.

Great. She wasn't going to impel down, or not for long anyways. She was going straight to the execution block now.

And then Lukas said the only words that could have possibly made this situation worse. He insisted that no one was going to touch her, and Rouge saw her hope of him getting away scott free drift away and blow up into a million smithereens.

His growl was echoed by hers as she rounded furious eyes on the now-likely-former vice admiral, "Don't be an idiot. Just put your guns down and go back to where you belong before you get hurt for some chick dumb enough to kidnap you." Because it had been dumb. Idiotic. Absolutely _ridiculous_. The marines had found out about her despite her efforts. She'd kidnapped the man and likely put him through hell for her own selfish needs.

Rouge's eyes snapped with the fire of her own self-loathing as she pulled out both daggers and rounded on the marines, preparing to fight her way out, or if not, at least get herself away from Lukas and avoid having him get caught in the crossfire. "The vice admiral is innocent. He has been driven mad by the harshness of the abandoned island I kept him on. He has been coerced by yours truly and I must say, I did a great job," Rouge said with bitter humor as she twirled the daggers around and shifted into an attack pose.


	10. Chapter 10

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

He practically bared his teeth at her as she pulled out her daggers and ranted about his innocence. Please. There was nothing innocent about this anymore. It stopped being innocent as soon as she said 'hello'.

"Put your daggers away and get the hell out of here before your ego gets us killed," he fired back at her. Later, he'd think back on this moment about how easy the decision was, to hang up the marines and give everything he had for her. Now, however, all he could think about was the execution block at Marineford and what she would look like up there as the Fleet Admiral announced to the world that she was the offspring of Portgas D. Ace and how she was unfit to be in society.

"Enough of this!" Vice Admiral Ore commanded, "Knowles, I'll have you court marshaled for this! Someone shoot the Dragon so we can go home!"

"I said _no one touches her_ ," Lukas rumbled, "Rouge, go _now_ ," he added over his shoulder.

The look at Ore gave him was like someone had just robbed him blind. His face was starting to turn an ugly shade of purple and his upper lip curled in a sneer. He grabbed the gun from the soldier next to him and pointed it right at Rouge. Lukas shot a bullet straight down the barrel of the gun and it blew up in Ore's face. The man downright hissed in outrage.

There was a rumble of confusion through the soldiers, Lukas could feel it. They were worried about him – some of them were colleagues that had once worked under him – and they were confused at his turn around. The stunt of blowing up Ore's gun and enraging him made them nervous. They knew his skill with a bullet; he'd take many of them out before they realized what was happening. In the end, the soldiers didn't know what to do: shoot the Vice Admiral or save him.

It was that hesitation that was going to buy him the time he needed. He was safe, relatively, with the marines. He wasn't going to be killed, at the very least. He was going to have to face his crimes at some point, but not tonight, not now. Rouge, on the other hand… justice was not a kind friend to her and with her identity out in the open now, witnessed by a hundred soldiers who each formulated a different feeling about her, she was at a real risk here. And nothing else mattered to him but her safety. If he thought putting a slug through his right eye would insure she could walk away scot-free, he'd do it. The realization was powerful, but it was truthful.

He turned and with one Glock still aimed at Ore, he turned the other on her. He didn't plan to shoot her and should she called his bluff, he'd be fucked, but he needed her to know that he wasn't dicking around here. They weren't going to fight their way to freedom, not this time, "Leave now or I swear on my father's grave I'll send all of them after your nakama."

Again, that ripple went through the soldiers. Confusion. _What was the Vice Admiral doing? Letting her go or turning her in?_

"Shoot them!" Ore shouted.

"Now, Rouge!" Lukas demanded. And he shot Vice Admiral Ore Leifen in the shoulder.

All of her muscles tensed in defiance to his command, and her shoulder gave a nasty shock of pain down her arm, causing her fingers to loosen momentarily around one of the daggers. It was not noticeable to the average onlooker, but to Rouge, it meant she was in deep trouble. That kind of weakness in a moment like this could lead to death. Not even that, but Lukas had been wounded too. Neither of them were in a condition to fight.

 _Shit_. Her eyes wavered, the fierce fire dimming as she stood helplessly before him, time slowing to a trickle as her gaze collided desperately with his. He was fucking serious. He was going to let her get away at his own expense, and if she hesitated, it would be for nothing. They would both be fucked now that he'd openly betrayed the marines by shooting the other vice admiral.

"Lukas-" Rouge bit out, the hint of tears making her eyes glimmer through her fierce scowl. Her hair had long fallen from its bun, and blew in dark wisps around her face. One heartbeat sounded in her ears. Two.

She re-sheathed her daggers.

Three heartbeats.

Long, membranous wings sprang out from her back and scales flashed across her flesh.

Four.

"You're going to pay for this," she promised him viciously, the words conveying her pain, her love, her anger, all of it, but uttered low and just for him.

In the corner of her eyes, she saw barrels slowly start to train on her, and Lukas. Without hesitating another moment, Rouge shot up into the air, so fast she blurred to the average eye. Two bullets whizzed passed her, then she heard more gunshots, but felt no threat. She spared a glance back, and saw that Lukas was shooting the guns out of the hands of the marines aiming for her.

The tears, both of anguish and of anger, finally brimmed over her eyes and tracked down her dirty cheeks. How dare that man make her love him, then force her to leave him like this. How dare he prove to be the man she wanted him to be in a way even she couldn't doubt, all when for naught.

He would be punished. He would be imprisoned. Perhaps even killed, if they consider her as a high threat that he allowed to escape, though such a drastic measure is rare in the new regime.

Still, the idea of Lukas, locked in a cell among scores of dangerous men, many of whom he'd put there himself, made her stomach clench painfully as Rouge continued her flight up into the night, letting the darkness of the sky swallow her up until the sounds of the alley were a distant echo. As she shot up above the first level of clouds, she came to an abrupt stop, and flew in place as her mind went from a slow, distraught pace to cranked up and working.

She couldn't allow Lukas to be put in that situation because of her. Her secret had been found out, and everything he did was because of what she put him through. But... _more_ than that, she loved him. She couldn't bear the thought because she'd come to love that man, in a way that made him feel _necessary_.

With her mind made up, Rouge adjusted her direction, and dove down below the clouds with a single-minded focus, flying fast and hard. She would find Roary, and then...then she would call an army.

She was gone.

All that was left of her was a little bit of dust, the smell of fire and ocean and a lingering, desperate look that conveyed more feelings than they had had time to express verbally. He felt relieved at her escape and yet ruined by her existence in his life at all. But as he faced down men he'd once worked side by side with, shot their bullets out of the sky and eyed the injured and positively irate Vice Admiral Ore and knew he was looking down a long, narrow hallway to a cell with his name on it at Impel Down, he thought about the last two months he'd spent with her.

And he would've done it all over again, even if it meant imprisonment.

Rouge disappeared into the sky and the sharp clap of bullets waned, so did the adrenaline high he'd been riding on and blood loss and fatigue caught up with him in the rush of a heartbeat. He dropped to the ground on his knees, his weapons skittering across the pavement. All the Marines were staring at him like they were sure he'd lost his mind and maybe he had, frankly. Lost it to a blue-eyed, sassy she-dragon.

"You!"

Lukas looked up and mustered a sour expression as Ore charged in on him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauling him up slightly, "Knowles! Do you KNOW what you just did?"

"Yes."

"You just let the daughter of Fire Fist Ace _get away_. I'll have you for obstructing justice and aiding and abeiting. I'll have your rank. I'll have your ass in _Impel Down_ _…_ "

"Eat your heart out, Ore. I'll answer for my crimes."

"You…" Ore turned a terrible, mottled shade of red and purple and shook his fist at Lukas like all he wanted to do was deck him, "A dirty marine! Compromised, that what you are!"

"At least I can sleep at night."

"What're you saying, Knowles?"

"That's enough, gentlemen!"

Both Lukas and Ore, only inches from each other's faces and moments away from beating the snot out of each other turned and coming through the crowd was Admiral Smoker with his three cigars and admiral's cloak flowing behind him. Like a shadow, Tashigi was nearby.

Out of the three Admirals, Smoker was the one Lukas respected the most. There was just something about the guy; he had his head screwed on right and while he was a man of justice, he was a man of true justice and Lukas had emulated him.

"You," Smoker pointed at Ore, "Someone take him to the medic ward for that shoulder."

"Admiral Smoker, sir! Knowles is in violation! He…"

"I'm well aware, Vice Admiral," Smoker interrupted, puffing smoke, "Medic ward, now."

As Ore was being escorted away, Lukas made a solid effort to stand but his vision was blotchy and his knees felt weak. It didn't matter though because the Admiral hauled his ass up to his feet, "And you," Smoker gave him a once over, "Medic ward for you too, but someone cuff this hunk of meat first. I'm court marshalling you, son."

Lukas nodded, "I understand, sir."

"All the same though…" Smoker ruffled his hair like he would a child, "Impressed that you're alive and back," he leaned in a little closer and said just for Lukas' ears, "And glad you didn't sway from your moral code."

 _12 hours later_ _…_

"Has he talked yet?"

Admiral Smoker turned and saluted the Fleet Admiral as he entered the small observation room. Across one side of the room was two-way glass, a window that looked right into an equal small interrogation room. Sitting at the table with his wrists cuffed, his shoulder bandaged and his torso bandaged and one band-aid right above his eye was Lukas. He was quiet, had been for hours since they brought him in. They'd give him some different clothes to wear; a pair of scrubs on his hips and a tee shirt. He'd been allowed to bathe too, so his hair dried straight up. He didn't look much like a Vice Admiral, but he still exuded his power even just sitting calmly.

"No. He hasn't spoken for hours, sir," Smoker supplied, ashing his cigars.

"I'll get him to talk for you," Ore sat in the corner of the room with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No one asked you, Vice Admiral," Smoker growled, "I'm still disappointed in your professionalism for this case."

Fleet Admiral Coby nodded when suddenly, the first movement in hours came from the interrogation room. Lukas slid his chair back and stood up without a flaw or ache on his face and came straight up to the glass. Everyone was silent at he knocked thrice on the glass and said, "Fleet Admiral, I'm ready to talk to you, sir."

Coby laughed, "He's been waiting for me. His haki is as acute as ever."

Lukas never talked more in his life, he imagined. As the Fleet Admiral, Admiral Smoker and – much to his chagrin – Vice Admiral Ore positioned themselves in the room with the Fleet Admiral right across from him at the table, Lukas relayed his entire experience with Rouge the Dragon Smuggler from the moment he pulled her out of that bar fight to the moment he let her escape. He tried to keep an unbias tone in his voice, left out much of the intimate stuff that they'd shared, but every now and again, the Fleet Admiral would get a little secretive smirk on his face like he was in on the joke too.

Finally, at the very end, Coby asked a few questions. "Why did you cover her escape last night?"

"Because I don't believe that she is a sin to society just because she's the legacy of Ace."

"If her identity had not been in question last night, would you have still left her escape?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm in love with her."

"Do you think your feelings have compromised your judgment?"

"Are you asking whether or not I fell in love with her because she was my kidnapper? No. Had I been able to return to the marines by simply walking back on base, I would not have obstructed anyone from taking on her case and arresting her as the Dragon Smuggler."

The Fleet Admiral had that little grin on his face again before he closed the notebook he'd been writing in, "In a few days from now, you'll appear before the counsel and they will determine your punishment. We will keep you here on base in custody until then. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good."

 _A week later_ _…_

Lukas stood near the bow of the ship as the colossal doors loomed out of the fog and over the ship bearing the marines insignia. Behind him, he could hear the captain of the ship ordering for clearance to enter the realm of Impel Down. Impel Down, where he was going to spend the next five years of his life repenting for his crimes. Well, he was expected to repent anyway. Repenting meant he needed to feel guilty and terrible for his crimes. He didn't. But, he believed in fulfilling consequences for crimes and once his sentence was done here, he'd lead a quiet, retired life.

" _Vice Admiral Knowles Lukas, this counsel had determined your guilt on five accounts. Withholding pertinent information from senior officers. Aiding and abetting an infamous criminal named Portgas D. Rouge. Aiding and abetting the criminal organization named the Black Bull Smuggling Ring. Obstructing justice by allowing the outlaw named Portgas D. Rouge to escape justice. Assaulting a fellow officer. For each of these crimes, we sentence you to one year in Impel Down for a total of five consecutively served years. You are also hereby dishonorably discharged from the Marines. Thirty percent of your military fund will be wired to the benefactor named Knowles Angela and the rest will go to probate for redistribution to the marines. How do you find this sentence?_ _"_

" _Acceptable, Counsel Member,_ _"_ _he_ _'_ _d replied._

 _Behind him in the small courtroom, he heard his sister Gabriella scream,_ _"_ _No! There has to be another way! You can_ _'_ _t take him from us!_ _"_

 _Lukas turned around,_ _"_ _Shut_ up _, Gabbi and take care of okaa-chan until my sentence is served, understood?_ _"_

 _She must_ _'_ _ve seen the seriousness on his face because she_ _'_ _d sucked back her tears and nodded. She was angry at him and angry at the marines, but she knew better than to keep talking. Their mother needed her and if she opened her mouth again, she_ _'_ _d be in contempt of counsel and thrown into military custody for a couple of weeks._

The doors groaned so loudly that many of the crew covered their ears and the waves swelled, rocking the ship. Lukas stood steady and took in a deep breath. There it was, the fortress of a prison, just in the distance. He was ready. Every single hour he was about to spend in there was worth it for the two months of freedom she'd given him. He was ready.

 _One Week Ago_

Rouge landed in front of Shakky's Rip-Off Bar and was stumbling for the handle when the door was suddenly yanked back, and Roary grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her into the bar so fast she did't have time to react. All at once, she was surrounded by all twelve of the Inner Circle, save for Niki, who sat off to the side while Shakky tended to her wounds.

"Rouge! Where have you been!"

"We were worried about you!"

"Where's that marine hunk?"

Questions and voices came at her from every side, but Rouge's mind was solidly locked on the image of Lukas' face as she'd left him. Fury, at the marines who forced their early parting, who'd forced him to betray his own, continued to swirl in her chest and she struggled to get up the energy to tell everyone to shut up and leave her alone. She knew, in a less irrational part of her brain, that much of her anger was directed towards herself; after all, she'd caused the complete ruin of the first man she'd ever loved. He would lose his job, he would probably go to jail even. How would his sisters and family get by? The guilt and the pain of such a selfish action, even if she'd been trying to protect herself and her family, gnawed at her relentlessly. She couldn't possibly handle conversing with people right now, especially not her friends. She'd just opened her mouth when Roary's calm, commanding voice brought abrupt silence to the room.

"Everyone shut up, and back off." Dark eyes glimmered grimly from under the dusting of brown hair that fell across his brow as he watched his brood back away from Rouge until the woman stood in the center of the room, directly before him, practically swaying from exhaustion as she hit her adrenaline crash. His eyes tracked a line of blood that slowly dripped down her stomach from the shoulder wound soaking through her vest, and his lips settled into an even grimmer line.

Rouge ignored the look on his face, but she kept her eyes locked on his. Then she drew in a deep breath and said darkly, "The Marines have Lukas." Around the room, looks of confusion were exchanged, and Pixie rubbed the back of her head with a frown. Only Roary's practically expressionless face seemed unaffected, with the exception of the fact that his eyes glittered like hard diamonds, and the grim line of his lips fell another fraction of an inch. "We were trapped in the alleys, and the marines surrounded us...Lukas betrayed them, to save me. He allowed me to escape and shot away their attempts to stop me." She tried to maintain a level voice, but the panic she truly felt swirling in the base of her gut, the one she had no rational control over, leaked over into her voice a little. She'd caused an innocent man to turn against his fellow nakama! How could she do that to someone she actually cared about? The desperation in her voice drew alarm from Pixie and Kugo's face, a concerned frown from Teddy and Leon's, and lead to murmuring among the rest as those smuggler's in the room more unfamiliar with the vice admiral, unsure as to how they should react to the news that one of their enemies was likely no longer a threat, but that this was definitely not _good_ news.

"Lukas helped to save my life. Whatever you're going to do, I support you," Niki's voice cut through the room, clear and determined, as if completely and one hundred percent sure that Rouge was going to do something about this, to right the situation somehow. Rouge wished she had the same confidence as her best friend. The fierce look in the redhead's eyes made Rouge's heart ache. Niki would always be there for her, that Rouge would always make sure she was safe.

Rouge turned to Niki and strode towards her with long strides, despite her near-exhaustion, and bellied her impatience, her burning need to _do_ something, now. For Lukas, the man who'd stolen her heart. "Niki, babe, I know you just got out of a terrible place, and I should be here for you-"

"Stop. Rouge, I know you. I know what you need. Go save him. I'll be rooting for you. Thank you for saving me," Niki's grin was honest and full, and Rouge felt a stab of relief that the Don had not robbed her best friend of her strong and beautiful personality. Despite the shadows she could see lingering in Niki's eyes, there was also a bright and determined woman eager to face freedom again. "I'll be here when you get back, and we'll get wasted and go raving again." Rouge felt her lips twist into a quick smile, thankful to have such an understanding nakama.

"You cannot go tonight," Roary's voice held a sharp but quiet command. His brow was darkened in a slight scowl as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You're half-dead on your feet. You're lucky I've let you rant and rave this long before being treated. Besides, there are far too many Marines on this island for our force, even combined, to overcome. Especially considering our current weakened state."

Rouge turned to face Roary, the stubborn glint in her eye making several of those near her to shift almost nervously, anticipating trouble from past knowledge of how difficult Rouge could be in this mood. She ignored them, her eyes never leaving Roary's as they faced off across the room. "I know; there is no way he could be rescued before he is taken off of this island, not without a miracle, and I'd rather have better odds if I'm going to rescue someone I care about out of Marine custody." Only then did Rouge break eye contact with Roary as she started walking towards the door, so slowly at first that her intention was unclear. "Instead, I'm going to go get my Uncle and a whole mess of people, and then I'm going to break that man out of Impel Down. It's a long flight, I must leave immediat-"

She never got to finish. Roary had given a slight indication with his chin to his bodyguards the moment it became clear that Rouge was heading for the door. Less than a foot from the door, Fillipe suddenly appeared behind her and delivered a quick blow to her temple, and her body crumbled into Dave's waiting arms.

"You can leave after you're wounds have been tended to and you've gotten some sleep," Roary said conversationally and with a small, knowing smile to Rouge's unconscious body. Looking up, he grinned when he noticed the relief on everyone's face. "You're all cowards. Rouge wouldn't have hurt you if you'd tried to stop her," Roary insisted, shaking his head woefully.

"Yeah, right. Just because she's wounded doesn't mean she wouldn't have kicked me in the balls," Kugo said with a snort.

A couple of hours later, Rouge came to spitting mad. This time, nothing could have stopped her from leaving. The moment she became conscious, all she could think about was Lukas. He filled her thoughts in a way she hadn't allowed herself to think before. She'd never wanted to get attached, so she'd conscious ignored any thoughts about him if she could, but now that she _was_ attached, and he was gone, it was all she could think of.

She thought of how he made her laugh, of how he gave as well as he took, how he just seemed...to fit, in her life. As if he'd always been there. She knew they'd never really stood on the same side of the law, but when they were together, that didn't seem to matter at all.

How could she let someone like that out of her life? She remembered, a little, the way her mother had been when her father had still be presume "dead." How her mother couldn't ever stop thinking about him, even though he was gone. Would it be like that for her too?

The idea was unbearable. She had to get him back.

Her nakama wouldn't allowed her to leave unless she promised to stop at several island along her path, and Rouge had been so desperate at this point, she'd agreed, though had little intention of stopping.

She used Lukas' face to give her the energy she needed to keep going, to keep flying. As a full dragon, she took off from Saobody and headed for the island she'd been born on.

And though she was tired, and though her wound re-opened half a day's flight out from her destination, Rouge pushed on. She flew right to Roctortue Island, not stopping _once_.

Three days passed since Lukas had been taken, and the long flight had taken a toll on her. The bandage wrapped around her shoulder was ripped and frayed from the repeated beating of her wings. The reopened wound was oozing blood, and had soaked the bandage through. The moment the island came within view, however, she earned a burst of energy. She let loose a roar and a stream of flames so loud and bright that by the time she reached the shore, almost every single person living on the island had gathered by the shore.

She landed on the large space left clear at the end of the bluff, and shifted to her human form as two figures separated from the crowd and rushed towards her. Ace reached her first, grabbing her bare shoulders and brushing her wild hair out of her face. "Rouge, dammit, what the hell happened to you?!" he demanded in an angry voice, his blazing eyes skirting over her wounds and the dark circles under her eyes.

"There's no time, daddy. That's not important. Where's Luffy?" Rouge demanded as her mother caught up.

"What? Luffy?! What do you mean, not important? Have you looked in a mirror!" Ace raged, shaking her shoulders slightly to accentuate his point. Rouge felt her world tilt dangerously at the motion, and struggled to regain her mental equilibrium as her exhausted body struggled through the pain and wear she'd put it through. In fact, it was beginning to be a struggled to remain conscious. She hadn't slept for more than a couple of hours in days.

"I need him...and Zoro...and..." Rouge couldn't finish as her knees suddenly felt weak and she was forced to devote her precious mental strength on straying upright. Once the dizziness and weakness had alleviate some, she locked eyes with her incredulous-looking father, trying to convey how important this was to her. "We need to save Lukas, daddy. We need to get him out..."

For the second time in less than a week, Rouge lost consciousness, but this time it wasn't by force. Her body overrode her stubborn mind, and Rouge's eyes slid back into her head as her knees buckled beneath her. Ace caught her limp body, his eyes livid as he took in his daughter's condition.

There was a momentary pause, then Ace drew in a deep breath.

"THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LET OUR ONLY DAUGHTER GO OUT TO SEA BY HERSELF!" Ace exploded as he rounded on Mara, fire racing up and down his arms and shoulders as he practically shook with anger. "Look at her!"

Mara let out a sigh and reached out to smooth Rouge's hair back from her face. She let her fingers hover over the girls lips, then gliding her touch down and around to the pulse at her neck. "She's fine, Ace. Relax. She just pushed herself too hard! She'd been in worse conditions and lived," Mara said confidently, though her creased brow bellied the concern she couldn't hide as a mother.

"Woah! What happened to Rouge?!" a voice came from the direction of the crowd, and two more figured disentangled themselves from the murmuring onlookers, and hurried forward. Raion was gaping with shock while Sabo's face was a little white. He'd never seen his sister so beat up.

"Mom...is she gonna be okay?" Sabo asked, but Ace cut Mara off.

"I've never seen her worse! What are you talking about, woman?!" Ace demanding, holding Rouge out like a doll as if to exhibit her body. "She looks like she's going to die!"

Mara tsked at the man, "She's just smart enough never to come here while looking like that. She's also smart enough not to tell _you_ about the times she'd been in sticky situations. She's wounded, but she'll live. Obviously she came here because she felt very strongly about...whatever it is she came here for. She'd not that seriously wounded, but she pushed her body despite her condition, and this is what happens."

Ace stared at Mara with a look that said he wanted to strangle his wife, just a little, but then managed to reign in his temper, and let out a slow hiss of a breath that caused smoke to furl out of his nostrils. "Who the hell is this Lukas, then?" he demanded in a tight voice.

"Lukas?" Raion piped up, his eyes sparking with recognition.

Sabo's eyes went wide, then he winced, taking a fell step further away from his father as he realized how angry the man was about to be with his son and nephew.

"That's the dude that Rouge has been shaking up with on her island! I think he's a vice admiral or something too," Raion said with a snicker, and Sabo buried his face in his hands at his friend's lack of tact.

Mara let dismayed sigh, and darted forward as if to grab Rouge out of Ace's arms, but it was too late. Ace's whole body suddenly erupted in a column of fire. Those people who had continued to linger at Rouge's return now decided it was a good time to scram, and get the gossip once Ace had cooled down, seeing as Mara had declared the girl alright.

Since Rouge was a dragon, and therefore immune to the heat of flames, and Mara was made out of water, neither female was hurt as Ace combusted and yelled, "WHAT?! Shacking-?! I'm going to KILL this man."

"Calm the hell down!" Mara snapped in her loudest most commanding voice, and both Sabo and Raion traded nervous glances as the Mom-Voice made an appearance. Ace glared at his wife and continued to huff like a pissed off bull, but he shut the hell up.

Mara reached up and flicked her husband in the nose, hard, and snatched Rouge out of his grip with surprising strength. "How can you possibly rage and rant like this when your daughter clearly needs medical attention! You should be ashamed, Ace. Now go cool off and when your daughter wakes up, we'll figure everything out in a _calm_ and _rational_ manner."

Ace opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, then shut it again when Mara narrowed her yes. He let out a growl, then whipped around and crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Fine," he muttered. Mara gave a satisfied nod, then turned on her heel and started marching towards the hidden village. She got twenty feet before she snapped, "Sabo, come carry your sister."

Raion let out a laugh, earning a glare from Sabo as the blond boy hurried forward to take his older sister out of his mothers arms. Though Rouge was definitely bigger than Sabo, Ace had been training Sabo relentlessly since he could walk and so he easily heft the young woman into his arms and followed his mother to the doctor's house.

 _Three Hours Later_

"Ace! Oi! Aaaaaace!"

Ace looked up to find the Thousand Sunny approaching the island, and Luffy standing on top of the Lion's head, waving his arms in the air. Ace had spent the better part of the past three hours pacing or checking in on how Rouge was doing, and Mara had finally kicked him out.

"Luffy! What are you doing back here?" Ace called, moving slowly towards the shore. The Strawhats had left not long before Rouge had arrived after they'd dropped Raion off on their way to visit an old friend.

"Well, we saw the fire in the sky...we decided to come back and find out what happened," Nami voiced from the deck as she moved forward and leaned on the railing.

"Yeah! You shouldn't be doing that kind of thing unless it's an emergency bro!" Luffy scolded, gum-guming his way to the shore once they came in range.

Ace felt his cheeks burn just slightly, and scowled at his brother hotly. "It _was_ an emergency. Rouge showed up all wounded and exhausted! She collapsed right in front of me!"

"So you blew up into a pillar of flames?" Nami asked skeptically.

Ace balked, then scowled even darker at the woman. "She wants to save some vice admiral that _your_ son says she's been sleeping with," Ace voice was tight and his hands curled into fists, but he let it out with a breath as he remembered that Mara would probably be out here soon, since the ship had probably been reported to the village already.

Luffy frowned, as if he was confused, while Nami giggled into her hand up on the ship. "So? Rouge is a nice girl. Of course she'd want the save the guy. What kind of trouble is he in?"

"He must be the marine they have on trial at Enies Lobby. The Marines wont talk yet but apparently he was cavorting with a criminal," Nami supplied, indicating the newspaper she'd read that morning.

"Wait, he's a marine _in trouble_ with marines?" Luffy asked, flabbergasted. "She wants to save him from the _marines?_ " Luffy asked, still looking a little confused.

"I don't know. She didn't get out much before she passed out, but she asked for you," Ace said darkly to his brother, as if this was _all_ his fault. Luffy was one of the reasons his daughter had gone out to sea in the first place, though.

Luffy let out his long thinking sound, holding his hand down on his head as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on, obviously still confused about the fire pillar relating to a rescue mission, but finally he just sighed and said, "Yosh! I'll just wait till she gets up and then I'll ask her! I love rescue missions..." he added with a grin, and Ace almost decked him, his foul mood continuing.

He'd been here for a month. As a Vice Admiral, he'd known exactly what type of containment he was getting into. Impel Down wasn't nearly as terrible as it had been in previous generations, but it was still pretty tough compared to the little holding cells for petty crimes at each marine base. Every day at the crack ass of dawn, he was pulled out of the silence of his cell to go the cafeteria on his level for breakfast. The first couple of days had been an establishment of dominance. A fallen marine in a sea of pirates and riffraff he'd tossed in here himself? Well. He'd gotten into some serious scraps and his left eye and cheek were still yellowed from the hook punches he'd taken before he beat the shit out of a couple of his assailants. Meals were quieter after that.

For the first couple of weeks, he hadn't had much peace. Every day, or every other day after his breakfast, he was hauled up to the top floor and dropped into an interrogation room. And every single time, it was the same questions over and over again.

"Where can we find the Dragon?"

And every single time, he'd reply, "I don't know."

"Where is the cache island?"

Same reply; "I don't know. I was blindfolded when I was transferred."

Then, they'd leave him alone in the room for hours and come back again and ask him all over again, maybe phrased differently, maybe a different investigator coming in. It was always the same though. They wanted to find her. Frankly, he wasn't going to let them but at the same time, he wasn't going to be uncooperative.

He'd be ushered back to the cafeteria for some dinner, then every other day a shower – and more ass kicking as some dudes tried to jump him in the nude – then back to his cell for the night. He had no visitors, wasn't allowed to send letters or make phone calls. All he had were the black and white striped jumpsuit and a tee shirt, a cot, a toilet to piss in and every now and then, he'd ask for a newspaper and get a crossword puzzle and some news. But other than that, it was pretty routine.

He'd been left alone mostly now, for a couple of days now, maybe a week. He supposed that the investigators must've grown tired of his repetitive answers, the same bullshit over and over. He had nothing to offer them. Maybe they'd started to realize that.

The ten-foot double-steel and seastone lined doors opened at the end of the hallway and Lukas perked from his cot where he was lying. No one came down to Level Six, the level reserved for criminals about to hit the execution block or marines like him who Benedict Arnold'd the system. Well, not unless they were coming to get you for brekkers and it wasn't that time of day. That could only mean that someone was coming to deliver… or collect.

Two investigators stopped in front of his bars, flanked by three marine patrols. Lukas sat up. It was hot as fuck down here and he had his tee shirt off and wrapped around his head like a do-rag and his jumpsuit tied around his hips. In the past month, his facial hair was starting to riot and they wouldn't allow him a razor to shave. God forbid he slice his wrists and they be robbed of his punishment. Then again, he was lucky he got to shower on occasion at the very least.

"Let's go, Knowles," one investigator said.

"I got nothing to tell you," he replied, not moving from his cot.

"The Fleet Admiral wants to see you," the other one said.

That gave him pause, "Why?" he said, "I've got nothing to tell him either."

The marine patrols opened the door and the investigators beckoned him, "Let's go."

He cooperated and the patrols slapped some shackles on his wrists – unnecessary, really. He wasn't going anywhere – and guided him out of the level and into the elevator to take them to the top. Once there, it was down a series of hallways and a few coded doors and he was dropped in an interrogation room once again. A slammed door and he was alone.

He glanced around needlessly before settling on staring at the "mirror" on one side of the room. A double window. It was a mirror to him, but he knew from experience that there were people on the other side. And he could sense them with his Haki. Marines. Higher ups, maybe Vice Admirals and Admirals. Watching him.

The door opened and the Fleet Admiral walked in. Lukas didn't move as Coby slid into the chair across from him, two steaming cups of joe in his hands. He pushed one across the table to Lukas, who eyed it surreptitiously.

Coby laughed, "It's not poisoned. Thought you might like something better than the slop they serve downstairs."

Lukas grabbed the paper cup in his linked hands and took a cautious sip. Just a little bit of heaven in his dark world, "What can I do for you, sir?"

The Fleet Admiral spun his cup in his hands, "The Dragon has gone to ground," he supplied, "No one seems to know where she is."

Another sip of coffee, "I've been keeping an eye on the papers when I can," Lukas answered vaguely. When he was met with silence, he continued, "I don't know where she is, if you're asking."

"I'll bet you could hedge a guess, though."

Lukas shrugged, "I have a lot of different ideas."

"Why don't you shoot a couple my way?"

The ex-vice admiral narrowed his eyes, "Why do I want to make it easier for you to find her?"

The Fleet Admiral smiled around his paper cup as he sipped his beverage, "Because you want to know where she is too."

… damn it. That's why he worshipped this guy. Perceptive to a fault. Lukas shrugged, "She's wherever she feels she needs to be. She could have gone to ground with the whole smuggling ring…"

"Smuggling ring has been pretty quiet."

"… or she went to her island…"

"And you don't know where that is."

"No… or she could have gone home."

"Where's home?" Coby asked, "Or more importantly, what's home?"

Again, Lukas shrugged, "Home is where her family is and no, I don't know where that is. We didn't talk about family much. Her family anyway. You know, they're all pirates and me being a marine and everything…"

The Fleet Admiral nodded, "Yes, that's right, she's technically related to Luffy and his nakama. There has been some movement among the pirates, a little stir, if you will," and for one moment, they met eyes and Lukas felt a chill down his back. But then the moment was gone and Coby stood, "Well, that's all, Lukas. We've hit a bit of a standstill as far as locating the Dragon so until we learn anything new, we won't be hounding you for answers anymore," he smiled, "Try to stay healthy. Do some exercises or something. That food down there… it's cheap to fund, but not so great for you."

And then he left and the patrols came back in and ushered Lukas out. As they went down the elevator and headed back to his cell, he thought about what the Fleet Admiral said. _Stay healthy. Do some exercises or something._ That felt weird to him and he couldn't place why. He supposed it was just something compassionate to say; he did have a closer relationship with the Fleet Admiral than maybe some of the other soldiers had had. Maybe he just didn't want Lukas to waste away in prison or something.

Whatever. He put it out of his mind as he was shoved back into his cell and a few moments later, the seastone steel doors shut and silence reigned once more down on Level Six. Lukas wrapped one hand around the bars and glanced out at that door, the only way in or out of this place. He couldn't let linger what the Fleet Admiral said.

All the same, he spun around and fell to the floor in a push up position. A few reps wouldn't kill him.

Rouge paced the deck of the ship in the prow, scowling darkly at the woodwork as she marched. Too long. This was taking too damned long.

"If you stare hard enough, maybe you'll develop laser beams in your eyes like Franky," A a deep, cheerful voice came from behind her. Rouge turned her head, and spied her Uncle Shanks coming up from the lower part of the deck. "Though I still think being able to turn into a freakin' dragon is way more cool than a robot," he added with a grin.

Rouge couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. She rarely got to see her Uncle Shanks, since he continued to spend most of his time on the open seas, free to ride the waves and the world, but when she did, she cherished those times. She'd been truly lucky that he'd been in the area when she'd sent out the call.

"Of course it is, but don't tell Uncle Franky that, or he won't make me such nice toys," Rouge replied, striding towards Shanks until the man swept her up into a big bear hug, then placed her back down like she was a delicate flower. _He was such a softy with me_ , Rouge thought with a grin.

"So Luffy gave me a brief description of what we're doing...Are you sure you want to rescue this man? He will never be allowed back among the marines, and will like get a bounty on his head considering it will be assumed he can get to you, _Portgas_ D. Rouge," Shanks reminded her with a more serious expression.

Rouge sighed and stepped back, cross her arms over her chest and looking out across the sea. She could see two more ships appearing in the distance, and another thrill of excitement went up her spine. She pushed that from her mind, and murmured, "I know, and I've thought about that...but in truth, I feel like we were meant to be together. I've never felt so at ease and myself than I do when I'm with him. I couldn't risk losing something like that, and I wouldn't want him to lose it either, if that's how he feels. If he ends up hating me, then...so be it. At least I know."

Shanks was quiet a long time, so much that she tore her eyes from the see to glance up at him. Shanks had a broad grin on his face, and she thought, perhaps, were his eyes glistening? Rouge blinked, confused.

"Rouge! You've grown up into such a fine young lady!" Shanks exclaimed, lifting her up into another bear hug. "I can't believe it! You've grown too fast! You were such a beautiful baby girl..." Shanks added, his voice a little teary. Rouge had to restrain a laugh from escaping, and simply rolled her eyes, hugging him back and patting his back awkwardly.

"Thanks?" Rouge muttered, and Shanks put her back down, but didn't remove his hand from her shoulders. His face instantly lost the weepy-look, and took on a more serious stare.

"How did your father react to the news that you're going to save a marine from impel down that you happen to be in love with?"

Rouge groaned, her head falling back and her eyes squeezing shut. "He yelled at me when I regained consciousness, but my mother kicked him out and scolded him so hard that he sulked for a day. Then he just glared at me whenever I was around, and was even more sullen with Luffy, who was absolutely ecstatic to help me. It didn't help that he's blaming Lukas for the marines finding out my real name."

Shanks let out a bark of a laugh, then sighed. "That poor man. Be gentle with him, remember that you're his only baby girl, and you're quite the handful." Shanks grinned wryly.

"Well, _he_ was a handful, according to Luffy, so it's his fault for giving me his genetics," Rouge snorted, crossing her arms and turning back towards the railing. The ships were much closer now, and she could see that it was Bon Kurei's ship, and the Kuja Pirates, who'd come out of tradition since they'd helped in the last Impel Down break-out.

Nearby, the Heart Pirates' submarine surfaced, and Trafalgar Law appeared out of the hatch. She leveled a look up to Rouge, nodded his greeting, then moved his eyes over the rest of the people assembled on deck. Rouge followed his gaze. Luffy and his crew were all present, along with Jimbei, Emporio Ivankov, Marco, present under strict orders from Ace to protect Rouge, Buggy the Clown (a reluctant family member, but he liked Rouge), Teddy, Leon, and Kugo. Also on board was Raion and Sabo, but they weren't supposed to be since both Mara and Nami had forbidden them on account of their age. However, they'd snuck aboard anyways, and Rouge had found them out three days ago.

In the waters nearby, several ships were anchored. This was the designated meeting spot, and ten pirate ships, including the Thousand Sunny that she stood on now, had responded. Among them were the New Fishman Pirates, the Red Hair Pirates, and others, friends of Luffy's that had owed favors to him. Rouge was glad she had such an influential uncle.

"I think that's the last one that responded," Nami accounted, planting her hands on her hips and nodding confidently. "This should be plenty, especially considering how weak Impel Down got after the Revolution. It's no longer such a maze of deathtraps, at least," she said with a nervous grin, looking over at Luffy. "Right?"

"No worries! This is gonna be fun!" Luffy said with a big grin on his face. He turned his head and looked up at Rouge, "Ready to go get him?"

Rouge grinned, feeling the excitement tingle all over her body. "Yes! I've been waiting a whole month already, Luffy, let's do this!"

Luffy laughed, gum-gumming his arm towards her until he could ruffle her hair, like he used to do when she was little. "You'll learn patience as you age."

Nami reached over and smacked him over the head, "It's not like you have!" she retorted, and Rouge giggled.

Three days later, Rouge was standing on the lion's head with a spyglass to her eye when the big, imposing doors of Impel Down came into view. Luffy stood just below on deck, whining and begging her to get off his seat. She ignored him, and adjusted the glass to sharpen the focus, and confirmed the symbol on the doors.

"I see it!" she cried, and Luffy increased his whining.

"Rooooouge...I wanna be up there," Luffy said, scowling and looking pouty.

"This is my rescue, Uncle, not yours," she reminded him with a sassy grin, and planted her hands on her hips. "We'll be in view soon, and that'll really shake them up. When was the last time an armada of ships came knocking?" Her grin was feral.

He was in the interrogation room again. It seemed that this time, instead of grilling him like they had before, they tried the Fleet Admiral's approach. They gave him some coffee and attempted to have a pleasant conversation with him.

Unfortunately, there were two reasons why that didn't work. 1: They asked questions that he couldn't possibly have any answers to and 2: he didn't respect the investigators like he did the Fleet Admiral so it was all in vain anyway. Apparently, in the last few days, there had been a serious stir in the pirate community. Newspapers were starting to report it and other than the rumors that were flying around at meal times, he had no other information for the marines.

"Alright, take him back downstairs," the investigator told the patrol marines. As Lukas was being escorted back out, the investigator added, "Nice shiner you have there, Knowles. Getting into some fights?"

Lukas reached up and gingerly touched the left half of his face where his cheek, temple and eyelid were a colorful and swollen array of deep ocean colors, "Ya, well, when it's you versus ten pirates you singlehanded threw in here not too long ago, chances are they sneak a hit or two in. Don't worry, though. You should have seen what they looked like before the guards stepped in."

That brought a vague smile to the investigators face, "Sounds like you hold your own."

Lukas shrugged and finally, the patrols took him out of the room and led him down the series of hallways towards the elevators. Suddenly, commotion screamed down the concrete and steel halls and the patrol guards stopped. Then, they were ushered to the side as a small squadron of guards went running passed them, armed to the teeth with rifles and swords. Someone was yelling commands down at the end of the hallway.

"I need fifty guards on the elevator at the top floor and fifty more stationed at the front doors. Any word from the control room yet?"

Someone else shouted, "Under no circumstances do those doors open! Are we clear?"

Another voice, "Has someone contact the Fleet Admiral yet? We are gonna need backup from headquarters if they decide to launch an attack!"

Lukas turned to the guards, "What's happening?" he demanded, his vice admiral voice coming out on reflex.

They didn't deem him an answer and simply shoved him along the hallway. The sound of hundreds of boots echoed and more than once they had to step aside to allow soldiers to go by them. At one point, a commanding officer stopped them, "The Warden wants all prisoners back in their cells immediately. We are entering a lock down."

"What's going on?" Lukas demanded again, this time digging in a little as the guards tried to yank him down the hall, "Who's here? Who's attacking? Why are we going into lock down?" Impel Down hadn't been assaulted since Luffy single-handedly infiltrated the fortress right before the war. New procedures had been put into place to offer more protection from intruders and break outs. It seemed unfathomable that someone would stupidly try to break in.

"Just get back to your cell, Knowles," the officer said before disappearing down the hallway.

A little shove and he started walking, but he tuned his hearing and his haki on full bore to try and figure out what was going on. The marine in him demanded to know, demanded to take action and the romantic in him thought something completely outlandish. All he got was panic and chaos. Whoever was out there was causing a huge commotion.

Another team raced by and Lukas caught a snipit of gossip conversation as they ran.

"… Straw Hats are here…"

He outright stopped this time and the guards stopped short, "Move it, Knowles," they ordered, shoving him forward.

He didn't move his feet. The Straw Hats were here? Impossible. What could they possibly gain from attacking Impel Down? The Pirate King didn't need more followers and what did he have to gain by starting a war with the Marines again? So long as his crew left the marines alone, the marines didn't bother them. The Pirate King went to ground like, ten years ago with all his kids.

Then, his mind jumped to the thought that he'd flirted with the second he'd heard the uprising. But she wouldn't _dare._ He'd kill her if she came here. He was in here for her, damn it. It would be stupid and idiotic and he'd kill her because all his sacrifice would be in vain…

He dug his heels in as the guards tried once again to get him to move his feet, "No!" he said forcefully, "I have to know what's going on!"

"Move it, prisoner!" one of the guards growled, "No one is authorized to tell you anything anymore."

And for the first time since he'd been thrown in this hellhole, Lukas was uncooperative. He planted his feet and slammed his elbow into the face of one of the guards, staggering the poor guy as blood poured from his nose. The other guards immediately sprung into action and jumped Lukas, trying to squelch him. He could smell the unease coming from them. At first, when he'd been escorted around, it had been with his hands and feet chained and a collar around his neck with several leashes attached. The marines were afraid of his power and for good reason. Weaponry was his specialty, but he was top of his class in hand to hand. Now though, since he'd been so good and cooperative, all he had were cuffed wrists and three guards.

"Tell me what's happening!" he demanded, tossing his elbows around and lashing out with his feet. He would've taken to the two other guards down had a team of soldiers not rounded the corner at that very instance and offered their assistance. Twenty against one were not good odds and someone shouted, "Knock him out!" and there was a clapping noise and suddenly, his world tilted and went black.

When he woke up, he was back in his cell. He wasn't sure about how much time had passed, but he reckoned he was only out just long enough for them to toss his ass back in his cage. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his head where a nice egg was developing. Someone got him good…

Then, he remembered that something was going on outside and he jumped to his feet and wrapped his hands around the bars, pressing his face against them to see down the hall. A dozen guards were stationed at the doors and the rest of the inmates were glancing out of their cages too.

"What's going on?" he shouted to the guards, "Tell me what's happening!"

No one answered him, hell, no one looked his way other than the prisoners nearby. Lukas slammed his fist against the bars in agitation. He needed to know. He had to know. It better not be her. She better not be here. He would be so angry if it was her. And yet, at the same time, his stomach twisted with nerves of excitement and he hated that he was even being so pompous to think she would even be here for him.

Lukas spun around and tossed his ass back on his cot. There were thousands of prisoners in Impel Down with thousands of pirate nakama who'd risk getting them out. It could just be some crazy fucks thinking they'd succeed.

Yet, at the same time, who other than Rouge, backed by Luffy would be crazy enough to try and attack this fortress? And he had heard those soldiers say, _"_ _The Straw Hats are here_ _…"_

It better not be her. Please god let it not be her…

All eleven ships came to a stop about twenty yards away from the large, imposing doors the separated them from Impel Down. Rouge hopped down from the lion's head and gave her spot up to Luffy, moving to stand by the railing and watch. Everyone moved like a well-oiled machine, previously prepped on the proceedings.

Jimbei walked slowly to the edge of the ship, his eyes roving over the large door with a slight scowl on his whale-shark-man features. Luffy twisted his upper torso around like a cork screw to look at the fishman, and both men saluted each other. Then, Jimbei dove off the deck and into the ocean.

"This feels so nostalgic!" Ivankov pipped as he climbed the stairs to the top deck of the prow, joining Marco at the railing and facing the door with a big smile on his face. "Luffy-boy, I'm so glad you called me! I was getting bored and this is just so much fun!"

Across the deck, next to the other railing, Buggy scowled at him and said angrily, "How can you be nostalgic about that? We almost died!"

Luffy's voice cut through the conversation as the Pirate King stamped his foot down on the ground, and instantly turned a shiny hot red as he entered second gear. "Guys! Time to have some fun!" He announced seriously, but his lips were stuck in a perma grin.

Next to him, standing at the railing just to the left of the lion's head, Zoro grinned as well and unsheathed all three of his shiny katana, "These doors can't handle my fury," he said in a deep, scoffing voice.

"Or my canon," Franky added from the helm, his fingers hovering over the trigger for the Gaon cannon.

A shot of water rocketed into the air from directly before the door. Luffy lifted both of his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Marines! We're coming in, like it or not!"

As his hands dropped, every pirate present with the exception of Rouge, Sabo, and Raion shifted into attack-ready positions. Then Luffy blew air into his arm through his thumb and vulcanized his fist. "Ready, set...GO!" Luffy called, sending his fist rocketing behind him, and then wrenching his shoulder forward and pulling his huge, ship-sized fist into a devastatingly fast punch.

Simultaneously, everyone let loose their most powerful attack. Zoro's enormous cannon, Robin's giant foot, Nami's enormous lightning strike, and others joined Luffy's fist in a strike that made the ocean tremble. Below the sea, Jimbei used his control over water to first blast the door, and then manipulated the currents that held the door shut to ease the process. With a terrible groan that sounded like thunder, the doors cracked open almost wide enough for a ship to pass. Jimbei moved into the gab, and began a furious dance of arms and legs with his fishman karate to keep the water from re-closing the door and erasing their efforts.

"One more!" Luffy called, and swung his fist back. Again, another attack hit the doors, half of the pirates focusing on one door, the other half on the other.

"Yes! Franky, Go!" Rouge jumped up and down, her eyes alight with anticipation as she waved her hand at Franky insistently. The doors had been pushed back enough that even their largest ship would be able to slip through, but Jimbei would only be able to hold the doors for so long.

"SUPER!" Franky shouted, and this time the canon in the back of the ship discharged, propelling them forward in a great leap that easily allowed them to pass. Behind them, other ships were using the motor's that Franky has designed. They charged forward, slower than the Sunny, but fast enough to get through the gate, one at a time, until all eleven ships had passed. Jimbei gave a great heavy with his fishman karate, shot cleared far from the doors, and felt the water pull at his legs as the doors slowly, with deep, vibrating groans, slid back to place. They no longer fit perfectly and even had dents in places, a testament to the power of the pirates that had gathered under Luffy's call.

Now past the gate, Rouge could see the giant fortress that was Impel Down. She wasted no time, shooting forward and climbing up onto the lion, despite Luffy already occupying the spot. She gripped his red shirt to stabilize them and wedge her way in next to him until the man let out a disgusted laugh and slung his arm over her shoulders.

"If you push me off into the water, you're going to be very sorry," Luffy told the girl with a gruff tousle of her hair, knocking her stetson off to fall across her back. Rouge ducked her head and bat his hand away, glaring up at her uncle.

"This is my rescue, Uncle Luffy...not yours. I get to be the one who charges in. After all, I want them to know exactly who they pissed off by locking him in there," she retorted, and poked him in the side, urging him to stand back as they came up to the large gate in the thick wall surrounding the prison.

Luffy pouted at Rouge, "But...but I'm the king!" he insisted,

"Yes, you are, but this isn't about your throne, it's about my heart," she shot back, pointing to her chest emphatically and a little over-dramatically to get the point across to the somewhat thick-headed man. Luffy blinked, let out a mournful sigh, and hopped down from the lion's head to stand next to Zoro, still sulking a little.

From before them, a voice suddenly came blaring from a loud speaker: "Halt! You will not be permitted entrance to Impel Down. If you do not turn around and leave, you will be hunted down and given over to the hands of justice, _pirates_."

Rouge lifted her hat off of her back and plopped it back on top of her head. She planted her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side until she could peer up at the small windows where she knew she was being watched. Opening her mouth, she called loudly, "I am no pirate, marine. And I'm not turning around. I'm coming in to get my man, and there's nothing you can do to stop me with all of my _friends_ and _family_ to help me." Rouge emphasized those words to emphasize the point that this wasn't about being a pirate or anything. It was about them having taken her man.

And dammit, she wanted him back.

"So either you release Lukas Knowles to me, unharmed, or we'll bust down your door and bust your face in until you give him to me," Rouge added, sweetening her voice up a little and smiling savagely.

There was a long pause, in which Luffy demanded to know what was taking them so long, when the voice blared out, "Impel Down would never concede a prisoner because of a threat! Prepare to be captured, criminals!"

Rouge's grin only got bigger, and she glanced back to either side of her, catching the eyes of many who'd she looked up to and admired as a child. Now they grinned back at her, a similar sheen of anticipation glowing in their eyes as did in hers. Well, she supposed that considering they all practically raised her, it was only fitting.

She turned back to the gates, and lifted her hand to wave her army forward, "I was hoping you would say that..." Rouge said smoothly, and suddenly, her wings burst out from her back and she took off into the sky like a bat outta hell. Marco did the same, blue flames covering his arms and allowing him to soar high into the sky as a phoenix-man.

Both mythological beings converged on the windows in the wall. Those the slits were far too small for them to fit in, they hit them with such a force that both Rouge and Marco blew their way into the gate room on the other side. Screams tore into the air as marines scrambled back from the crumbling wall. Like a tandem team, Rouge and Marco took out any opposition with such grace and finesse that it was like a dance as they half leaped, half gliding from man to man, until Marco grabbed the lever for the gate, and pulled it down.

Gears ground and wood groaned as the heavy doors started swinging outward. Down below, she could hear the whooping and cries of the pirates as the ships surged forward and pirates jumped onto the walkway separating the prison from the wall. Rouge shot up into the sky, then dove for the doors where marines were flooding out to defend Impel Down. Sirens rent the air to signal the emergence as Impel Down prepared to go to war.


	11. Chapter 11

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Sabo had done the organizing. When Rouge had come home, spitting fire and sass, she'd known what she'd wanted. Save Lukas from Impel Down and get a whole army to do it. The finer detailing though, she left to her younger sibling. When some of the older pirates had questioned his planning, Luffy vouched for him, simply explaining that the kid was a mastermind for detail. And he'd earned some respect with his thought out and foolproof planning.

As Rouge and Marco raided in from above and opened the gate, Sabo started shouting directions to everyone as they hopped off the ships.

"Fishmen! Cover the door! No one goes out without permission! Straw Hats! Level One! Elevator! Franky, get to the control room! Bon Kurei, down to Level Two! Buggy Pirates! Level Three!" Every team was assigned a level and position. The idea at its best was to keep all the marines occupied on each level and leave the elevator open for Rouge to get down and back up with Lukas. In and out. Simple. Easy. Less casualties.

"Uncle!" Sabo shouted at Luffy. But Luffy just waved dismissively.

"I got it, kid," he said, "The Warden's mine."

Sabo nodded and before he had a chance to start in and make sure that everyone knew where they were supposed to go, he was grabbed from the back. He whipped around, his reflexes famously fast and realized just before he decked his assailant that it was Raion.

"Dude, everyone's good. Let's go!" Raion said with a maniacal grin.

"Raion! Your job is the key! We need the keys!" Sabo reminded him.

"That's right!" Luffy swung by and nabbed Raion by the back of his shirt, "You and me, son! The Warden's got the keys!"

Raion didn't even try to resist the tug of his sire and instead he laid his first two fingers under his eyes then turned his hand to point at Sabo, "You be careful, ya?"

Sabo nodded, "I'm with Rouge, don't worry," Raion was very overprotective when it came to Sabo. Sabo knew it wasn't because Raion didn't think he wasn't capable, he was just obsessive over no one finding out who Sabo really was.

As soon as Raion and Luffy disappeared through the crowd, Sabo turned and headed towards Rouge. Marines jumped at him; he expected it to be like that. Kids looked vulnerable and the marines weren't going to miss a chance to nab a Straw Hat kid. Luckily, Sabo wasn't easy to catch. He might be just fifteen years old, but that was fifteen years of training from his father. And while books and scholarly activities were his passive passions, his fighting style consisted of a bo staff and pressure points. His speed was unmatched; no one could catch him at a dead run and his fists and feet were a blur. Within a blink of an eye, he could have a grown man down on the ground, his nerves paralyzed and incapable of continuing to fight. It was his nitch; speed.

"Rouge!" he shouted as he came near where she was, "Let's go! Level six!"

It was the first time he was putting his fighting skills to use. And of course, he was trailing behind the most notorious pirate in the world, so naturally, every single marine who spotted them made a beeline towards them.

And, of course, no one got even remotely close to them because his father just turned on his Emperor's Haki and it was over. Raion had long since gotten used to the feeling that he was desensitized to it. At this point, not even the Pirate King could intimidate him.

"Come on, pops!" he whined as they tore through hallways, "Leave some of the small fry for me at least!"

Luffy glanced over his shoulder and grinned but before he could say anything – if he even planned to – they skidded to a halt. Raion gasped at the strange man who blocked their path. He wore a black double-breasted suit jacket with small black demon wings. On his head he had some sort of nemes and he must've stood eight or nine feet tall. In his right hand was a very long staff with a very sharp looking knife-thing on the top.

"This is where you stop, Straw Hat," he said.

Luffy waved his hand, "Outta my way. I'm after the Warden."

"You're looking at him."

The Pirate King blinked slowly, "You're the poison guy?"

"No! He's the Vice Warden. I am Hannyaball! Chief Warden of Impel Down!" he pointed his long staff-knife at Luffy, "And you and your kid are gonna rot deep in my prison!"

Raion drew his two swords and growled. Luffy's face fell into a very serious expression reserved only for those that threatened his family and he laid a heavy hand on Raion's shoulder, "Do you see them?" he said low to his son.

Raion nodded, his eyes locked on the large key ring dangling from Hannyaball's hip. It was going to be so easy, like taking candy from an infant. His sire would provide the distraction and he… he just had to sneak in there and steal the keys off that fat warden.

"Yosh! Then you know what you have to do!" Luffy said, punching his fist into his open palm and his body immediately heated up, "I wanna be home for Sanji's dinner!"

He could hear the sirens, even all the way down in the great depths of this prison.

The guards shifted and Lukas flicked his eyes up to watch them as they trained their eyes up before glancing at each other and then settling back down. Lukas was sitting in the corner of his cell where he could see everything, right down the hallway to the door. No one was coming or going without him knowing about it. Already, that Chief Guard Sadi-chan came and went, making sure everything was sound down here.

As he sat there, listening to the sounds of alarms, he tried to picture just what was going on. Was it Rouge up there? Was she fighting? What sort of battalion did she bring with her? He couldn't decide if he was angry or not yet. The lack of information was making it hard for him to make the decision.

Something echoed hard upstairs and little bits of dirt fell from the ceiling. The guards shifted uneasily and Lukas couldn't hold back the ghost of a smile. One thing was for sure; if she was here, she was tearing the place apart.

Sabo caught up with Rouge as she was entering the main building of the prison. Her brother's impressive speed was enough to keep up with her in her hybrid form as she dashed, ducked, glided, and swerved past fighting pirates and marines as she bee-lined for the elevator.

They passed Luffy and Raion squaring off against what must be the warden, along with other battles that were sure to rock the foundation of the prison itself. She almost felt bad for the marines; she had really mustered up quite an impressive army, one that the marines didn't stand a chance against.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a much larger Nico Robin swatting away marines like they were flies. An explosion behind them came from Franky's machinery as he went wild. Though the marines were doing their best to stop the onslaught of pirates pouring in through the door, they were sorely outmatched.

Several marines tried to stop Rouge and Sabo, but the former easily flew over or past them, and the later was too fast to be caught. The siblings avoided confrontation, since their job was primarily to retrieve Lukas and get him out ASAP so that the pirates could withdraw before reinforcements arrive.

The elevator loomed up ahead, the large door closed and secured against use by non-marine personnel. Rouge was prepared to shift into her full dragon form to break the door down when Zoro suddenly appeared, his back to Rouge and Sabo as he assessed the door with a critical eye. Sabo came to a skidding halt next to him, calling out, "Uncle Zoro! Think you can take care of this for us?"

A feral smile flickered over Zoro's lips, "Oh, I think I'm more than capable of taking down a stupid door. Nothing, not even cells here at Impel Down, will stand against the wrath of my blades."

Rouge rolled her eyes at him and planted her hands on her hips. Around them, chaos continued to erupt. Marines and pirates alike were screaming and hollering, the sounds of blades clashing and guns going off permeated the air. "Well, do it already Uncle," Rouge said impatiently, her wings stretching out and relaxing in anticipation. Zoro blew the air out of his nose at her in a huff, lifted two of his swords, and performed a series of slices so quickly that not even Rouge's eyes could follow. When he stepped back and sheathed his blades, there was a low groaning, a sudden creak, and then the elevator door collapsed in strips. Rouge easily leapt out of their way, then dove for the opening it left her.

As she swooped past her brother, she grabbed him by the collar, and together, they plunged down into the darkness.

Rouge counted the floors as she rocketed downwards, keeping her eyes wide and pricked for the body of the elevator in order to avoid colliding with it. They passed level four, picking up speed, when Rouge felt rather than heard the rumbled of the elevator as it started rising.

Her eyes darted for the dim line of the door for the fifth floor, and saw that if she didn't move quick, the elevator who climb too high to allow them to escape. They would be forced back up to level four. "Hold on!" Rouge called loudly, and shifted.

Her full dragon form barely fit in the elevator shaft, but it had more than enough physical force to blow the elevator door of level five to pieces as she secured Sabo up onto her back, and then smashed her way through, claws extended.

They exploded out onto the fifth floor loudly, and found themselves facing a demon.

Vice-Warden Magellan slowly uncrossed his arms from his chest, and eyed the dragon and the boy before him. "Halt! You are intruders into my prison and I will stop you!" he called, scowling at them blackly.

Rouge's dragon-lips pulled back in a snarl and wisps of smoke drifted up from her nostrils. She recognized this man, and knew that he had eaten the poison poison fruit. He was extremely dangerous, but Rouge had been prepared to face him should the need arise. Though Luffy had barely escaped with his life the last time he'd faced this man, Rouge felt confident she could handle him.

For one, she was royally pissed off. She'd funneled all of her guilt, all of her impatience and anger and frustration about having to wait a full month to save Lukas into her mind moments before entering Impel Down, and she was still riding the furious adrenaline that had accompanied these emotions. It didn't hurt that she found it very easy to be mad at someone trying to stop her from rectifying her business with Lukas.

Secondly, she was a being of fire, and fire ate up poison. She would have to move quickly, though, because the vapors could still kill her if she wasn't careful.

"You have taken my man, and _nothing_ will stop me in getting him back," she informed Magellan tartly, lifting her noble head. Her glimmering blue eye flickered back towards Sabo, "Get off and get _far_ back. Don't breath the air any more than you have to," she instructed her brother, and thought she felt him hesitate, she was grateful when he obeyed, sliding off her back and hurrying away.

"He must face the justice of the law," Magellan answered, unconcerned about Sabo.

"Not as far as I'm concerned," she responded with a smirk, and then suddenly exploded into action. She drew her head back and let out a belch of fire. The flames were white-blue with their intense heat, and Rouge leapt forward and into them until her whole body was encased in roiling flames.

This was how she hit Magellan. Half a ton of angry, flaming dragon got him square in the chest, and a great sizzling sound rent the air.

The fight lasted a full twenty minutes, and was more difficult than Rouge had anticipated. Though her flames burned away his poison before she could be affected by it, he was fast and agile. Several jabs hit home on her body, though the vast majority of them were on her protective scales and resulted in no more than bruising. She might not have won if she'd tried to fight fairly, but she had a mission to fulfill. She managed to knock him unconscious by depriving him of oxygen with her flaming tail wrapped tightly around his throat until his eyes had rolled back into his head, and he'd passed out.

Panting and struggling for breath, Rouge put out the flames that were covering her body and lowered herself down for Sabo as the boy came darting out from his observation spot, and scrambled up onto her back. "Wow! Rouge, that was EPIC! You-"

"Not now. We have to hurry! That took too long..." Rouge growled, and took off again.

Twice more they were forced to stop and fight, though neither time took as long as her encounter with the vice warden. Finally she reached the stairs that lead down to the last level, and found it blocked by a squadron of fifty marines. Sabo slid of her back, and positioned himself behind her much larger bulk as they dove into the fray.

Nothing could have stopped them, stopped the magnificent dragon that tore and bit her way through everything that came in her path. As she reached the sixth level, she let loose a dragon screech so loud that the walls shook with it, and several men nearby clapped hands over their ears. Her eyes lighted on the door that separated the stairs from the prison cells, and her heart clench in her chest.

She was almost there! With a triumphant snarl, she crashed into the doors with enough force to sent them flying back off their hinges, and also crushed many of the marines that had stood between her and it. Dust danced in the air as the dragon thrashed stomped until not a single marine was left opposing her. Finally they were still, and as the dust settled, Rouge lifted her head and focused her glowing blue eyes forward, into the room of cells that held her love.

He heard her before he saw her and the anticipation nearly did him in. There was no mistaking that feral growl before the rhythmic pounding on the door. Most of the prisoners covered their ears when they heard the roar; not Lukas. His face lost about a shade of color and he gripped the bars of his cell until his knuckles were white, physically displaying his anxiety.

She was here. Whatever trepidation he had before was confirmed when the door finally gave to her administrations and as the screams subsided and the dust settled, there she stood. In all her dragon glory. Shades of blues and blacks and fire and anger.

You know, if he had to be honest with himself, if anyone could break into Level Six of Impel Down, it would be her.

Propelling off her back and landing lithely on his feet was that boy that came to visit her one the cache island. The blonde one. What was his name? Sa... Sa... Sam? No no, Sabo! That's right. Lukas remembered he had an interesting name. He was her cousin or something. And like, fifteen freaking years old! Breaking into Impel Down? Did she have no propriety?

"Rouge!" her name was out of his mouth before he could censor the decision to call out to her.

The boy looked up when he heard Lukas' voice and after glancing quick at Rouge, he loped down the hallway with more grace than was expected at his age.

"Hey, marine!" he greeted,halting at the cell. His face face and his brows crinkled in the middle, "Whoa... You look like you've been through the ringer. Get into some fights?" there was no disguising the slight pitch of excitement in his voice.

"Ya, try being where I've been for the last month..." Lukas growled.

Sabo grinned and Lukas was suddenly bombarded with that same witty, sassy, devilish grin that Rouge had. Just how closely were they related, again? "They'd have to catch me first..." the boy said before checking his watch, "Damn it! Where the hell is Raion?"

"You brought the Pirate King's son too? What the hell is wrong with you people? You walk willingly into the worlds most notorious prison and all of you are the worlds most notorious criminals!"

Just then, there was a shout and a sound and someone came flying down the stairs. It was Raion, his combat boots slamming into the concrete. Lukas' eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as the teen made his entrance. So did Sabo's. The kid looked like he'd been through a shredder despite the gigantic, slightly maniacal grin on his face. His tee shirt was shredded and the front of his hair was plastered to his head from... Blood. It trickled down his face, most of it dried on or smeared from where he'd obviously tried to wipe it out of his eyes.

" What the fuck happened to you?" Sabo exclaimed.

Raion grinned and swiped at his face with a bandana that was already soaked in blood, "Head wounds just bleed a lot. I'm chill, dude," he held up his hand. Fisted in between his fingers was a ring of keys, "Sorry I'm late, I took a detour to level four and let some wild prisoners out. Nothing like getting the marines riled over something else."

Sabo rolled his eyes.

As Raion came barreling in like a lunatic on happy pills, Rouge's dragon form dissolved away until a human woman stepped forward and out of the still-settling dust. Her hair was a wild mess around her head, and she sported a black eye and a slice that went from her forehead down to her cheekbone, narrowly nicking her eyebrow.

Her body was not in such good condition; she'd long lost the vest from one of the vicious scuffles she'd gotten in to on the way, and her bikini top was stained with blood, making the blue flames of her bikini top look like red ones. She managed to cover up her limp with a slow gait as she strolled passed the rows of prisoner cells that contained extremely dangerous criminals.

Cat-calls and whistles filled the air, and a deep, nasty voice growled, "You can rescue my hide any day of the week, cupcake." Rouge deliberately stopped next to that cell, and turned her still-glowing eyes on the ruffian within. The man had a thick grey beard and dark hair streaked with white. He was relatively groomed for a pirate, but his blue eyes glittered with sinister thoughts as his gaze flickered over her thinly-clad. Rouge simply blew out a stream of fire so hot that the metals of the bars turned a dull crimson. As the flames licked their way into the cell, the priate scrambled back with a yelp, stomping his large bare feet against the flames in an attempt to put them out. When he'd been driven all the way to the far back of the cell, Rouge released her flames, licked her lips, and moved on without another word.

There were fewer cat-calls this time around, and several men took a step back as she passed their cells. It wouldn't have mattered thought; Rouge's eyes were locked on Lukas' face now, and the joy bubbling up in her chest was enough to make her forget even the crudest prisoner.

She came up alongside Sabo and slowly, deliberately, places her hands on her hips, and cocked her head to the side. "Well well well...looks like you need a little help here. Caught and imprisoned by your own kind? For shame..." Though her voice was mostly serious, her eyes danced with suppressed laughter.

Raion chuckled and eagerly stepped forward with the keys, but Rouge put out an arm and caught the younger boy in the chest, earning a frown and a glower. "No yet, Raion."

"But we're in a hurry!"

"Shut it, or I'm going to roast your ass till Sanji can make a nice dinner with it," Rouge shot back without taking her eyes off of Lukas'. It was a struggle to keep her overjoyed emotions locked in her chest, to keep her face that ambiguous with to how she was feeling. She desperately wanted to touch the man before her, to feel with her hands that he was in one piece. Instead, she restrained both boys behind her with her arms, and said, "If we take you out of this cell right now, you understand that you will likely earn a bounty on your head. You will never be able to re-join the marines, or even become a simple civilian again. You will be entering the life of a criminal." She wanted to add _but you_ _'_ _ll be by my side_ , but she couldn't, in good conscious, do that. He had to _choose_ her life style before she could allow him to choose her, and if he didn't want to be with her, she was prepared to tell her whole army to pack up and go home, even though the very thought went against every fiber of her being.

"I will save you, but you have to understand what the consequences of this will be...if you can live with them, then I will take you out of this hell hole," she finished, and while her voice had stayed relatively professional, her eyes were pools of emotions. She couldn't stop the joy and the excitement from shimmering within the glowing depths of her irises. She wanted to tell him she loved him, because she'd missed her chance before, but she couldn't tell him that and let it influence his decision. He had to be one hundred percent sure that he wanted her.

He assessed her as she walked slowly down the hall towards his cage. She was a dark angel, no, a demon, here to rescue him and slay him at the same time. He wanted to wrap his hands around her slender neck and throttle her. She has risked everything to get down here to save him from this voluntary hell and all he could think was how much danger she has put herself in. Any line of the Pirate King, late or current, was a powerful bloodline for breeding dangerous people. The marines and the government even still wanted to eradicate those risks, those ancestries.

She approached his cell and he hardly listened to her tirade. Like he was gonna fucking stay put. Unlike her, he knew how to not waste a good sacrifice. With a speed born from irritation, he snapped his arm through the bars of his cell and wrapped his hand around her throat, not nearly enough to hurt her but just the vision itself was satisfying.

"Do you have any idea what you are doing?" he demanded, his voice a rumbling growl. He featured his thumb over the line of her jaw and up over her lower lip, " I have thrown away my entire life for your bid for freedom and this is how you repay it? Waging the war of the century in the biggest, most dangerous prison in the world? Do you know what the marines would pay for the line of Roger and Monkey?" his eyes skittered to Raion and back to hers, blazing green with emotion, "And you are dancing carelessly across the palms of their hands. What would your father think?" the last part was whispered in such a way as to promote guilt.

Raion snorted, "He'd be having a field day..." he muttered. Sabo glared.

Lukas released Rouge, his hand burning from touching her, twitching to touch her more, despite the fact that he was ripping pissed off at her, "Let me out of this god damned cell." he snapped at the teen, "I'll take my chances with the criminal persuasion."

Raion glanced quick at Rouge before coming forward. He slipped the key into the socket and turned. An audible click and the door jutted open. Slowly, he pushed it open and stepped through, his slippered feet making no noise.

He was too caught up in the moment to feel overwhelmed with what was about to happen. It just seemed... Surreal. He turned to look at her, standing there, almost covered head to toe in blood with a fiery emotion dancing in her blue eyes. Leaving Impel Down meant they could be together, didn't it? No longer a marine, no longer a civilian, he could be a part of her class now. The bad ass class.

"You can't get rid of me now," he told her as Sabo handed him two handheld pistols and he checked the weight and ammo routinely, "I'm going to hold you accountable for this."

A huge grin lit up Rouge's face, and her eyes twinkled in such a way that she almost looked like her uncle when he was feeling his most...mischievous, in his youth. In fact, it was almost spot on to Ace's feral grin, though only Sabo and Raion would have seen the resemblance, considering she had yet to break the news to Lukas about the truth of her father's "death."

She rubbed a hand over her throat, caressing the warmth left from his hand, and cocked her head to the side with a saucy wink. "Oh, babe, I'm more than capable of taking anything you throw at me. Besides, you don't know the half of what I brought down on Impel Down's head." Her grin stretched a little wider, and her eyes danced wickedly.

Raion had a similar grin on his face, a look that make _him_ look exactly like his face. "Oh man, we totally _rocked_ this place."

As if on cue, a loud explosion sounded from above, and a faint _Suuuuuuuuuuperrrrr!_ came echoing down the stairs and resounding off the walls. Rouge shook her head and sighed. "Alright, I suppose we should get the hell outta here. Boys." Her voice was a sharp whip of a command, and both boys snapped to attention like well-trained soldiers. Rouge gave them a proud nod of accomplishment, and they each shared a look of devious glee.

"Raion, you're in front, Sabo, behind Lukas. Once his sweet ass is planted on my scales, it ain't leaving until we are safely on the Sunny, you got that?" She asked, eyeing the two with sparking, glowing eyes.

Raion and Sabo both scowled and Raion made a gagging noise, "Ugh, don't put it like that, cuz...it just sounds way nasty."

Rouge vanished from sight and reappeared directly behind her wayward younger cousin, and effectively cuffed him under the ear. The boy yelped and sprang away from her like a cat off a hot stove, rubbing the spot that she'd hit with a whine.

Sabo was still looking a little disgusted, but managed a chuckle at Raion expense.

"Enough! Let's go," Rouge snapped, pinching her brother's cheek as she stepped past him and into the more open space before the door. Tossing her hair back over her shoulder, she shifted. As a full dragon, she lowered herself down until Raion reluctantly crawled up right behind her neck. Sabo easily leapt up onto her back further down the way, leaving a space for Lukas. The moment the marine was up and in position, Rouge took off.

She was forced to hop and glide her way up the stairs and onto the fifth floor, but once she reached the elevator, she was able to spread her wings and scoop up the stagnant air to gain altitude. They passed several passed out marines and even some prisoners who had escaped in the scuffles. She didn't stop for any of them. The moment they entered the elevator, though, she warned her passengers, then gave a thunderous roar that echoed through every floor of Impel Down. It was the signal that the package had been received, and was en route to the ships.

"Waiiiiiitttt! Rougeeeeee!" A voice called from behind them, back on the fifth floor. She banked, quickly changing their trajectory and craining her head to peek back down the elevator shaft. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper came into view, waving their arms. "Take us with you!" Usopp whined as he flapped his arms frantically. "The elevator is broken and it'll take us forever to get out!"

"I could get us up there fast!" Luffy shot back, grinning and spinning his arm around as if preparing to let loose.

Rouge let out a snort of fire in a dragon chuckle, and dropped down until the three figures could clamper up onto her back. Once settled, she took off and barreled up the elevator shaft with a burst of speed.

They were moving in a blur of action. Lukas was hustled onto Rouge's back, sandwiched between the teens and as soon as they were settled, she took off tearing through Level Six to much protest from the other prisoners there. Level Five was completely demolished. His eyes widened and then, he just shook his head at the destruction and said a silent prayer to the marines who likely weren't going home. But emotions for the most part were hard to grasp at. He must've been in some state of shock; either that or his game face was on. He wasn't sure which.

They were partway up the elevator shaft - Lukas noticed grimly that the elevator doors at Level Five were blown to smithereens - when a shout echoed up. He whipped around. There, leaning out of the exploded elevator doors were the Pirate King himself plus two of his nakama. Lukas recognized Doctor Chopper who cured him of his deathly poison a lifetime ago and the long-nosed man looked like the sniper. Lukas didn't know his real name, but his wanted poster said his name was "Sogeking".

They pleaded for a ride and the three previous passengers had to scoot forward to make room for three more. Rouge made a noise almost like a grunt at the added weight, but she didn't seem outwardly affected as she zoomed up the elevator shaft. Above them, the box of the elevator made a croaking noise and started shuffling its way back from level one.

"Dad!" Raion shouted, pointing up.

"I got this!" Luffy laughed, standing up. Lukas popped his eyebrow up as the Pirate King pumped his fist up and the hand blew up to the size of the elevator shaft and turned the darkest black. He whipped his arm back and snapped it out with so much force that with a blast of dust, smoke and panicked shouts, the box of the elevator burst apart. Rouge flew through the destruction and debris with ease and headed right up to the lobby level.

They didn't land and Rouge circled around the cathedral ceiling. Below them, it was complete pandemonium. Pirates and marine were squaring off, the sound of bullets and swords clashing ringing through the air. He believed her when she said she brought hell down on the prison, but he didn't know exactly what kind of firepower. Holy shit, was that Red Haired Shanks? And Ivankov? Fuck. Not to mention the strongest crew in the world, the Straw Hat Pirates. Lukas could see Nico Robin and the cyborg squaring off against some senior officers. Pirate Hunter Zoro and Snow Rose Ratikka were holding the door with some impressive swordplay. The Humming Swordsman Brook and Black Leg Sanji were holding the stairs, letting prisoners out to create more chaos and holding back more marines. A bolt of lightning streamed from another spot right in the middle of the floor and Lukas spotted a lone red-haired woman facing off a circle of marines. The Cat-Burglar Nami. And it looked like she was severely overwhelmed.

The temperature around them dropped a couple of degrees and Lukas whipped his head around to see a downright sinister expression darken the Pirate King's face, his gray eyes glued to the center of the room.

"Raion, back to the Sunny-Go," he ordered and Lukas ping-ponged his head to see that the teen was also focused on the woman in the middle of the room. That's right. Nami was Luffy's Pirate Queen. Raion was their son.

"But..." the teen glanced from his father to Sabo, back to Nami and back to his father again. Lukas vibed that Raion, as arrogant and hot-tempered as he was, he was unnaturally overprotective of his friend and he could see that the kid was having a hard time deciding who was in more danger - his mother or Sabo.

"No. Ship. Now," Luffy ordered and with that, he slipped off Rouge's sleek back and plummeted to the floor. As soon as he landed, almost every single marine around Nami stopped, swayed and fainted and Lukas felt a tingle race up his spine. Emperor's Haki. Fuck, that guy was dangerous.

"There! Above!" came a shout from below and Lukas looked over to see the head of the guards rallying a squadron of more guards around him. The head of guards used to be Sadi-Chan, that vicious, sadomasochist chick, but she was retired after a few years. Now, it was some big strapping man with a huge scar down the left side of his face that curled up the edge of his mouth and nearly closed his left eye. His name was Xhen Chen and he ran a tight ship here at Impel Down.

"Take them down!" Xhen Chen shouted, "No one escapes my prison!"

A shower of bullets rained over them and Rouge banked hard to dodge them. Raion had the advantage being up front and wrapped his hands around her horns and Lukas had long since been used to this behavior from her and gripped hard with his knees and his hands. But for some reason, behind him, Sabo wasn't prepared for the dramatic turn and in one smooth motion, his lithe body slipped right from her scales and tumbled head over heels to the floor.

"Nee-saaannnn!" he screamed.

It happened in quick succession. Sabo hit the floor, slightly dazed and stumbling to his feet. Raion, pale-faced, jumped off Rouge's back to follow him and the marines were on them both like stink on shit. Lukas was still trying to catch up with why Sabo was shouted for a mysterious sister as Rouge hit the floor as well, more gracefully than the boys. Raion was ripping through marines and guards like it was his job while Sabo was nimbly dodging hands and chains that tried to ensnare him. It was obvious though, from the slightly glazed look on his face that he'd hit his head somehow and the marines were getting the better of him. The kid was overwhelmed.

"Sabo!" Raion shouted, slicing and slashing. Lukas pulled out both the guns he'd been given and - while staying close to Rouge - attempted to clear a path for the teens to get the hell out of this mess. He was vaguely aware that some of the Strawhats were making their way over. Usopp and Chopper were fighting hard and it looked like Zoro was making his way over to help the teens. It wasn't going to be enough. There were hundreds of marines concentrated right here.

"Get the Pirate King's son!" someone shouted, "And the blonde kid!"

"Sabo!" Raion said again.

"Raion!" Sabo shouted back. And suddenly, the blonde kid was thwapped hard over the back of his skull and he sank to his knees. Lukas watched with growing trepidation the transformation on Raion's face. His face paled further and his breath stuttered once, twice... and a ripple went through the crowd.

"SABO!" Raion screamed, "Sabo! NO!" and Lukas felt his heart stop for a beat as all the marines and guards around Sabo stopped, swayed and fainted right on the spot.

An instant hush went through the large room. Almost every set of eyes turned to Raion as he didn't even miss a beat and raced over to Sabo. The blonde teen was blinking rapidly and blood was pouring down the front of his face.

"Dude! You okay?" Raion asked, somewhat breathless.

Sabo blinked at him and then grinned, that insane, devilish grin that Rouge had, "Ya. Head wounds just bleed a lot, you know?"

From somewhere in the middle of the room, Luffy shouted, "That's my boy!" and just as suddenly as it stopped, the fighting began again in earnest.

Once Sabo hit the ground, Rouge banked like her life depended on it. She cursed the larger bulk of her dragon form for slowing her down as she scrambled to recollect her baby brother before either her mother or father had reason to murder her.

As if her father didn't already have enough reasons.

Her sisterly instincts were screaming in her ear as she pushed her wings as fast as they would go, but then a figure suddenly appeared before her, her feet pushing down on the air so fast it allowed her to stand on it: sky walking, something Sanji was particularly proficient in. The woman had bright green hair cut pixie short, and her body was riddled with piercings and tattoos. Her bright blue eyes were narrowed gleefully as she hefted up a blade that looked far too similar to a reaper's scythe. Without warning, she shot forward, bringing that sharp-looking scythe high up into the air in a sweeping arc that would sever Rouge's head.

That is, if the woman could ever reach Rouge. In a series of moves that illustrated her expert flight controls that she'd honed over the years, Rouge suddenly banked her wings forward and allowed her neck and tail to fly before her body as she went almost vertical, seeming to put herself in more danger as she elongated her neck at the oncoming scythe-user. Abruptly, she dropped her chin, opened her fang-lined maw, and let loose a belch of fire so hot and fast that she was propelled backwards a good five or ten feet.

This maneuver effectively put her out of range of the long-reaching scythe while also roasting her opponent to a crisp. The woman lost control of her sky walk, and plummeted to the ground.

Rouge didn't have time to celebrate; she had an errant brother to save. Just as she refocused her efforts on the blond boy, now surrounded and in trouble, Raion let out a shout of rage and let loose a wave of intimidating energy from around his body, effectively dropping many marines who lacked the willpower to stand up to Emperor's Haki.

Rouge's mouth dropped, even in dragon form, as her cousin pulled a move that was incredibly rare in individuals. But then, considering his father was well known for it, it was, perhaps, with less surprise that Raion would develop it too. Tossing aside her surprise, Rouge re-doubled her efforts, and moved in such a blurr of speed that she became a black shadow streaking over the fighting. Several marines below let loose a shiver of dread as her large form darkened their heads.

She scooped the boys up in her claws, grasping one boy in each hand and clamping down tight so that neither could wiggle free. Her wings strained as she re-gained altitude, but her exhaustion was starting to show as her speed significantly dropped with the added weight of Sabo and Raion.

"Both of you are _morons_ ," Rouge grumbled to them as she headed for the door that would lead to the ship. "You made a spectacle of yourself. Sabo, you're never allowed out with me again." She barked, her eyes glittering with menace. Her rapidly beating heart was only now slowing from the fear that had washed over her. It had been more than just the fear of his life against a bunch of rowdy marines in battle; it was that it had become, for one moment, painfully obvious that Rouge and Sabo were intimately related. Like, more than just cousins. In fact, he'd all-out called her his sister, and the expression on his face...Well, mother had always said that it was the same one her father and her got when she was feeling particularly wild.

It could not be discovered that Sabo and Rouge were siblings. And when they were together, it was even more obvious. It had been a mistake to allow Sabo to fight, even if he would have raised hell if he'd been denied.

Rouge's eyes flickered back towards Lukas, behind her. She wondered if he'd caught Sabo's slip. She had long debated if she could trust Lukas enough to revealed the truth about her father, but after all they had been through and the fact that he'd gone to jail for the belief that she didn't deserve to die because of the actions of her grand-father. If he felt that about her, then he might also feel the same about Ace, who'd also been made an example of because of his father.

Would he discover the truth on his own? Perhaps...

The exit loomed ahead, and as several marines got in between them and their goal, Luffy and Nami suddenly appeared. The pair moved in such sync that it was a flawless execution of technique, and without a wasted breath or movement, the marines were soon incapable of pursuit. Rouge shot past them with a blast of fire in gratitude, gaining altitude as they emerged outside. Below, the fighting was just as fierce, and Jimbei stood on deck, hands locked by his sides in a fishman karate stance. He let loose a series of water shots and repelled marines from the Sunny-Go.

Rouge called out to the fishman as they came in for a landing. Less than five feet from the ship, she released her brother and cousin and tossed them onto the deck like bags of potatoes, then shifted. She dropped to the deck in her significantly smaller human form, landing in a crouch between the two boys, and smirked.

Without moving an inch from her crouch, Rouge drew in a deep breath, threw back her head, and yelled to the world, "Success! You couldn't keep my man from me, you dirty marines!" The shout echoes across the bridge and the decks, causing several pirates to grin as they finished off their opponents, then began the retreat.

The pirates gathered were not like the low-level criminals that had once flooded out of Impel Down when Luffy had set them free. Though a few inmates had been freed for distraction purposes, none had made it to the exit. Therefore, the exodus of pirates was executed in a calm, almost jovial manner. Shanks saluted his opponent, then took off with a grin. Law had a smirk on his face as he bowed mockingly to the three heads floating in front of him, then took off. Within minutes, all of those who had joined Rouge on her crusade had returned to their ships.

"Let's go! Return to the Grand Line! We must avoid the reinforcements before they can arrive!" a deep voice bellowed across the ocean as Jimbei turned to all of the ships who'd accompanied them.

They hit the deck of the ship, the Thousand Sunny and all the adrenaline Lukas had been riding on since he'd heard that there was an attack on Impel Down flooded out of his system as pirates and criminals alike started retreating. It was a calm, wholesome sense of victory as ships started turning around and heading out of the destroyed double doors. His hands started shaking and he fisted them down by his sides.

Luffy and Nami were the last ones to get on board via the Pirate King snapping them from the deck onto the ship and the poor woman squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her jaw. As soon as her feet hit the wood, she pushed herself away from her husband/whatever the pirate version of married was and raced over to Raion. She cupped his face in her hands and studied him in only the way a mother could.

"I told your father you shouldn't have come!" she exclaimed, studying his face and the dried gash on the top of his head, "Lookit you! You're a mess!"

"I'm fine, mum," Raion patiently told her, but there was a fatigue in his eyes.

"And you!" she turned to Sabo, who was laid flat out on the deck, looking just as exhausted, "Your mother is going to kill me! And I don't even want to know what your father is going to do."

Sabo didn't open his eyes but just grinned.

"Hey!" Luffy came over and thwapped Raion on the shoulder, "Emperor's Haki! I'm pumped! Whoo Hoo! More training!"

Lukas turned around when there was a heavy thump on the deck to see that Tikka had dragged out a barrel the size of her little frame out of storage, "Come on, you lilly livers!" she shouted, "Let's drink!"

The chorus of yays was deafening. Franky, Usopp and Shanks started dancing as Brook began a jig on his violin. Behind him, Lukas could hear the low growl of Nami as she told the boys they were not, absolutely NOT allowed to have anything to drink while Luffy whined about getting drunk with his kid. Chopper was racing around with Trafalgar Law, patching up any wounds that people might have had. Around them, scattered in the ocean were the other ships, most saying goodbyes and all of them partying hard.

It was too much. Lukas' eyes flitted from group to group, overwhelmed. He had just willingly and actively escaped Impel Down where he was serving time for a criminal woman he fell in love with. She broke him out and that was it. No quiet civilian life for him in the South Blue. He was a criminal now, marked and branded. He would most likely collect a bounty and then spend his whole life running. The hunter has now become the hunted. He glanced at Rouge. What was going to happen now? The audacity he felt behind the bars of his cell had now fallen away. He knew he was going to be a criminal from the moment he stepped out of that cage. She told him so, warned him of the risks. But he hadn't had the time to sit down and think it through. He'd been so mad at her, so elated to see her that he hadn't thought twice about stepping out of that cell and into her life. Was he over thinking this now? He hadn't thought twice about it in the moment, but did that mean it was the right choice?

"Hey."

Lukas turned around to see Pirate Hunter Zoro right behind him, a big ass cup of sake in his hands, "Look, there's a bathroom in the medical ward down at the end of the ship if you want some time to process. I get that this is overwhelming," the pirate's voice was hushed so that only Lukas heard him. Not that anyone was really listening because everyone was drinking themselves silly.

"Thanks."

Zoro grinned and gestured to the whole of the ship with his hand, "Welcome to the pirate's life."

Lukas nodded his gratitude and slipped away from the crowd and headed towards the much quieter back of the ship. There, he found the doctor's office and quietly shut the door behind him, shutting out the sounds of merriment. It was still and clean in there with a desk, a bed and extra cot stored under it and blessedly, a bathroom. That's exactly what he needed. He needed to feel human again. Shave and shower.

After some rifling, he produced a straight razor that was wickedly sharp and some soap from the shower. He lathered up his face and made quick work of the haphazard beard that had grown wild during his imprisonment. Then, he grabbed some scrub pants from the closet, tossed his prison garb in the trash and turned on the shower. Oh fuck, it was so nice. A shower with hot water and not having to worry about criminals you may or may not have thrown into prison jumping your ass when you're most vulnerable. He was enclosed in glass and tile and it was small and quiet.

What was he going to do? He had no where to go, nothing to do. He couldn't make a life out of being a pirate. He chased pirates, but he really didn't know much about their lifestyle outside of thieving and stealing and partying and fighting and running from marines. Could he settle down somewhere in hiding? The Straw Hats did that, hiding somewhere. But that was part of the Fleet Admiral's choice; the Straw Hats didn't bother the marines, the marines didn't bother the Straw Hats. But he wasn't the most powerful crew in the world. Any marine worth their salt would hunt him down if he stayed stationary.

His mind jumped to Rouge. Would she take him on? Could he join her in her smuggling crusade? He wanted to, but he really just wanted to be with her, wherever she was. Would she take him on? He suspected that she would, but he didn't want to get his hopes up that she felt the same way about him as he did about her. She was so flighty and so independent and head strong. She wanted what she wanted. All the signals he vibed from her said that she cared about him. Ah, hell, she rescued him from prison. But he wasn't taking chances when it came to women. He wasn't going to ask her. He wanted her to want him all by herself.

Lukas heaved a sigh and ducked his head under the spray. He needed to not think about it. He grabbed the shampoo. Lather, rinse, repeat. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Rouge watched Lukas go, her chest tight. Her joy and triumph at having rescued him was dampened by the look in Lukas' eye before he'd headed off towards the clinic in the back. He looked...overwhelmed.

He hadn't been afraid, and it hadn't looked like he'd regretted anything, but she imagined he had no idea what to do with himself now that he was likely a wanted criminal. She sighed, pulling her tangles of hair up and into a messy bun on top of her head.

"Rouge, your man is quite the looker," Nami's teasing voice came from right behind her. Rouge jumped, whirling around to face her aunt, then gave a wicked grin and nodded.

"Hell yeah he is. Even if he's a marine, he's damn menacing. A total badass, I tell you," Rouge shrugged her shoulders and held her arms out with a saucy swish to her hips as she cocked her head back and stuck her chin out. "After all, he did manage to tame a dragon."

Nearby, Luffy let loose a loud laugh, and Chopper looked up from his patient to giggle. Rouge's grin widened, but then she sighed, turning her back on her family and facing the direction Lukas had gone in. "However, I forget how utterly overwhelming my family can be...You guys have such powerful personalities, you intimidate people," she grumbled, though she wasn't entirely sure that was it. Still, she listened to their laughter and teasing as she sauntered off after her now-ex-marine.

She found him showering in the doctors office, and found herself locking the door with a wicked smirk on her face. She studied him through the fogged, misty glass as she stood in the bathroom door, her arms over her chest and her eyes glittering with mischief. He was big and broad, barely fitting in the shower.

"So, partner...now that you're wanted and all, I suppose we should work as a team. I dunno if Roary will make you one of the twelve, but he'd sure let you work with me. Or, if smuggling isn't to you're liking, my family dabbles in several things that could be to your liking, and not all of them are illegal." She grinned as she strode into the bathroom, shedding her vest and reaching for the strings of her bikini. "I bet you don't really know what being a criminal is like, but we basically do things just like everyone else. We put pants on one leg at a time, even!"

Her grin got even bigger as she dropped her bikini, then her shorts, but left the little pink string thong on as she opened the door, and stepped into the shower, crowding him back against the back wall with her hands against his chest.

He felt her enter the room before he heard or saw her and watched through the textured glass as she came into the bathroom and coyly locked the door behind her. Oh boy. His blood pressure spiked.

He processed her words, trying out the sound of them in his head. Criminal. Smuggling. Pirating. though she'd said they could and should work together, she didn't actually say she wanted him to join her. If smuggling turned out to not be "to his liking" then he could dabble in some other pursuit which wouldn't necessarily coincide with her.

She was his thing. He didn't care what the fuck he did so long as it meant he could be with her. Wasn't that their big conundrum to begin with all about? He was a marine, she was an outlaw and two beings on either side of the justice spectrum couldn't be together. Well, now, weren't they on the same side, officially?

She pulled open the shower door and there she was, cool as a cucumber in just that scrap of material she called underwear. His eyes darkened to a forest green as he dragged his gaze over her. Damn. Two months felt like an eternity living on just the hazy memories of their one-night-stand. And his right hand.

She stepped in and shoved him back against the cool tile wall with her hands on his chest. The shower was small to begin with and adding her even slight build just closed the space right between them. He settled his hands on her hips, plunking the straps of that little thong.

"I can tell you right now what I'd like to be dabbling in," he rumbled, "And she is very, very illegal." he moved his hands from her hips to her very bare and very fine ass and pulled her flush to him, hip to hip and a gasp of air slipped through his lips. She was so real and so soft right against him. Compared to right now, he hadn't breathed for two months.

He ducked his head against her throat, "I've missed you," he said as a brief moment of sentimentality washed over him. He traced a hand up her spine until he could pull her hair tie out and the mounds of curls tumbled around her shoulders. He wrapped a handful of it around his hand and wrist and tugged it back, a little harder than necessary until she was looking up at him, "And I'm pissed off that you risked you life like that for me."

The pain only made her grin widen, and her eyes twinkled with pure mischief as she ground her hips against his hard shaft and rubbed her slick breasts against his chest. "Aww, com'on baby, you can't be mad at me for wanting my man out of jail. I'm not a patient woman-I wasn't going to wait five years." She pouted up at him, trying for all the world to look innocent even when her eyes continued to dance with delight.

She slid her hands down his chest, over his slippery abs and around the slashes of hips next to corded muscles at his sides. She dipped her knees a little, pressing herself closer to him and tilting her head even further back as she stared up at him, her lips falling open in arousal as she rubbing her abdomen and belly against his upright member.

"Besides, I was so not having sloppy seconds if someone managed to catch you off guard in the shower," she added wickedly, giggling as her hands slid between them and she wrapped her fingers around him in a tight, warm grip. With a moan of approval, she pumped her fist up and down.

"And lastly, it's not like I could have lost with the army I amassed. I told you, I got friends in high places," she winked, then abruptly dropped down to her knees in the shower, and took him into her mouth, sucking him hard and fast like a hungry cat at a milk bowl.

He was still hung up on where she got off thinking he was going to be sloppy seconds when she abruptly dropped to her knees and sucked him into her hot mouth.

Oh fuck.

His hot and heavy anger bled right into hot and heavy lust. The smooth wall tiles yielded no purchase for his hands so he buried them in her hair, sinking his fingers into fistfuls of curls. What a great way to outlet his emotions; a carnal blow job from the woman he'd sacrificed everything for. His life, his career, nothing mattered in the face of spending the rest of his life with her. Or at least as much as she'd be willing to share.

She kept calling him 'her man' and it was nice in the moment to feel the rush from the possessiveness in her tone, but with Rouge, he could never tell what she actually meant by it. He was so fucking in love with her it was disgusting. He knew she cared about him, but was it enough to keep her close to him? She disliked long-term commitments; would she toss him aside before too long? The thought sent a shot of panic through him that robbed him of his breath for a heartbeat, though cleverly disguised by the fact that her sinful mouth was sucking his cock.

He was too distracted to come. He coaxed her up by tugging her hair and her lips made a little pop noise like a champagne cork. He shoved her up against the wall, trapping both her wrists above her head with one of his hands, stretching her right out so she was dancing on her tiptoes. Helpless and with very little leverage.

"Don't ever leave me again," he told her, his brow furrowed, his eyes serious, hazel green to ocean blue, "Your flightiness and impulsivity make me panic. I don't ever panic." he slid his free hand up her rib cage to her breast, teasing the nipple to attention, knowing she was at his mercy, "You planned to leave me at the island. You planned to leave me after the raid. Don't. I don't ever want to be away from you," he ducked his head to catch her breast in his mouth, rolling his tongue around the bud while the water from the shower head cascaded over his back.

Rouge's breath caught in her throat, and she shuddered as liquid heat pooled between her legs. She was finding it increasingly difficult to discuss anything when he was touching her, _licking_ her, like that. Her hips were already undulating with need, with anticipation for the hot, hard length of him that she could feel pressed against her hip like a spear of lust.

However, the serious look in his eyes, the tone of his voice, urged her to keep her sanity as she processed his words. It had never occurred to her, after all of the effort she'd put into rescuing him, that he might doubt her devotion to him. Her first instinct was to be miffed at him, but she supposed that he made a good point regarding her history; she had a tendency to abandon men when she was through with them. After all, she'd never kept a man for more than a month or two, unless he was _really_ good in bed. And she _had_ threatened to leave Lukas quite a few times.

Rouge let out a long, slow breath as she reigned in her lust to focus on her words. She let her head fall back against the glass wall of the shower, but her eyes, gazing at him through the stands of wet curls that fell across half her face, were just as serious as his, "Do you honestly think I'd waste an epic army of pirates and criminals on a man I didn't plan on spending the rest of my life with? Come on, marine, I got more class than that," she teased, her lips curling up into a sensual smile. Even though he was no longer a marine, she had a feeling it would be a nickname of his for some time yet. Though her voice remained light, her eyes were heavy and serious as she said, "Lukas, your new criminal name should be the Dragon Tamer, because I am, without a doubt, irrevocably, whole-heartedly in love with you."

Deciding that she was done with the talking, Rouge's hands slid up the glass wall until she could hook her fingers over the edge. Gripping the side of the shower for leverage, she suddenly snapped her legs up and around his waist like a viper striking it's prey, and pulled Lukas' body flush with hers. A resounding moan of appreciation slipped from her lips as his hard body, slick from the water, rubbed up against her own curves. Her breasts smashed against his chest, her hips ground over the hard line of his cock, teasing him with her slick folds as her ankles dug into his ass. "And your Dragon is horny as hell, so I suggest you do something before she gets...outta-line," she breathed huskily, grinding her hips over his cock.

Her genuine confession eased a whole lot of tension in his body he didn't realize he had, like a balloon releasing all its air. Ya, it was overwhelming that his whole life had been flipped sideways and upside down and he was a marine gone completely rogue, but he had her. He had her, Rouge, the Dragon Smuggler, the ultimate temptation, a sinfully wicked criminal wrapped around his little finger.

And in two seconds, she was gonna be wrapped around his cock too.

He released her wrists and as she let out a low moan and rubbed herself against him, he angled his hips and slammed into her, filling her to the hilt. She was so tight and hot and slick and he had been so long without the warmth of her body that he came hard, sudden and fast. It left him breathless, quivering against her until the shocks finished rocking through him. But he was no where near spent.

Lukas pulled his hips back and pumped into her again, hard, unforgiving, an arm curved under her ass, the other braced along her spine. Most of her weight was supported with her hands curled over the top of the shower, stretching her torso right out, her breasts jutted out, the line of her ribs pronounced, her hair wet and wild, curls sticking to her shoulders, the glass, his chest.

It was a wild rhythm, a passionate give and take and it was exactly what he needed from her. Therapeutic, pouring all his emotions out and taking it out on her yielding body. His frustration at her for coming to him in Impel Down despite his sacrifice, the panic that his life was off-track now, the anxiety over what he was supposed to do next, the intensity of his feelings for her and unable to wrap his mind around the fact that he could have her now, and frankly, he was a little afraid of being a criminal now. His childhood had a rocky start, but since then, his life had been defined by the marines. Now to suddenly be flipped upside down...

"I. Love. You. So. Much." he growled, his words accentuated by each thrust of his hips, "You. Are. Mine. Come. For. Me." and he kissed her for the first time in two months, claiming her lips, slashing over her, his tongue invading her mouth. And he came again, hard and fierce, his breath caught up with hers.

Rouge couldn't stop the low chuckle in her chest when he came, his body releasing its tension so quickly after so long apart from her, but like the man he was, he bucked up and kept going, filling her deep and hard, wringing her out until she was clinging to the glass and panting.

"Lukassss..." she hissed his name, her head thrown back, her mouth parted and her breasts bouncing from every thrust of his powerful hips. She couldn't stop herself from wiggling them, grinding herself even harder onto his raging boner as he drove into her, desperate for a slice a heaven. Rouge had just as little patience, and when he claimed her lips with his own, she felt her body cresting.

She jerked against him, her legs tightening around his waist, her core milking him as they finished together. When the tremors finally ceased, Rouge let out a gasp, going limp against the glass wall and completely trusting that her man wouldn't let her drop. "Oh...man...I knew I sprang you for a good reason..." Rouge moaned teasingly, rolling her hips gently and making both of them shudder.

From outside the bathroom came a loud bang, and four sets of feet hammered into the clinic. "Rouge? Lukas? Where the fuck are they?" a loud voice called, annoyed.

"Raion, I think...uh. Gross. I'm gonna barf. Let's go." another voice came, cautious at first, then wholeheartedly nauseated. Sabo's voice. Rouge stiffened, her face flushing bright red at the knowledge that her baby brother knew exactly what she was up to. He was the only one who lent her modesty; she didn't want him knowing what she did with men, he was her baby brother!

Despite that, she couldn't stop the wicked smirk that peeked out of her expression. Her body was humming with satisfaction and nothing could ruin that.

"What? What's gross? Hey! Sabo, Franky said he saw Lukas go-" There was a scuffle, the sound of someone being dragged, then the door of the clinic slamming shut.

Rouge let loose a chuckle, and shook her head.

They finished up their shower - though he was distracted immensely when he soaped her up and that may or may not have led to some more heated nookie - and by the time they freed themselves from the shower, both of them were satiated and pruny. Rouge, by the blessedness of her being, brought him proper clothes to wear instead of the scrubs he'd laid out for himself. So, dressed in an open button down and a pair of low-slung shorts, they exited the clinic.

The deck was bursting with hullabaloo. Singing, music, drinking and dancing. Brook was circling around with his violin and someone had dragged out the piano and Raion was jamming on it. Lukas recognized the tune as Binks No Sake. Luffy was twirling Nami around, both of them breathless with laughter and Chopper and Sabo were dancing on the piano. Usopp, Shanks and Tikka were arm in arm, swinging bottles of sake in their free hands and frog marching around the deck while they sang at the top of their lungs. Franky had out a little guitar and was following along to the music, singing to Robin while she smiled and laughed at him. And everyone else, all of Shank's men, Zoro, Sanji... they were sitting on the edges, talking, drinking, laughing.

Lukas shook his head. Oh, a pirate's life for me...

Nami spotted them as Luffy dipped her way over backwards, so far that her hair brushed the deck and she smiled. She pulled away from Luffy's arms and darted over to them across the deck.

"Come!" she said, her eyes alight, "Celebrate your freedom! Rouge, I'm gonna steal your man for a dance," the red head winked at Rouge and Lukas was helpless as Nami practically dragged him away, passed Luffy who was bent over laughing before the Pirate king swept over to Rouge. He took her hand and led her into a wild dance.

The partying lasted far into the evening. It took a while, but Lukas loosened up into the night. Everyone seemed to trust him on Rouge's good faith and heartily welcomed him into the pirates' social circle. By the wee hours of the morning, everyone was passed out drunk and couples had discreetly slipped away. Lukas instantly found out why Raion had been the least of the squeamish when he and Sabo had burst into the clinic earlier. His mother and father were the first to slip away for a little coitus clearly and it wasn't the only time during the night. And now, the Pirate King and his queen were one of the couples that weren't on the deck in the morning when everyone started waking up. Raion had clearly been desensitized to it.

Mid-morning, Sanji was up cooking a massive breakfast and hangovers were banished as food was consumed and water and coffee and juice were drank. Breakfast was wrapping up when Tikka's voice came over the loud speaker.

"Rocturtue Island! LAAAANNNNNDDDD HOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone finished breakfast and filtered out onto the deck carrying coffees and juices. Lukas was leaning on the rail, watching the island come into better view, drinking his coffee. Rouge told him that this was her home island and she had a wicked look about her when she'd told that to him. Speaking of Rouge...

He turned and searched for her on the deck. There. Off to the side, she was having a low but heated conversation with Sabo. Raion was right nearby them, smirking like a motherfucker. Rouge was pissed, clearly and she was shaking her finger at Sabo and then gesturing behind her, towards the island. Sabo was trying to hold his ground against whatever she was growling at him about and he was going between crossing his arms over his lithe chest to waving his hands animatedly. He was much calmer of the two. And Raion was just wearing his shit-eating grin. Lukas wondered what all the fuss was about.

After a minute, Raion glanced up and locked eyes with Lukas. Then, he nudged Sabo and Lukas read his lips as the teen said Rouge's name. All three of them looked up and started walking over to him.

"Everything okay?" Lukas asked with a little smile. Raion snorted.

Sabo shrugged, "Oh... you know..."

But whatever Lukas was supposed to know didn't actually come to light. With the island less than a half a mile out, suddenly, there was a deep clap like an explosion and every pirate on the ship turned to see a massive column of fire erupt from the shore. Lukas cursed and Raion laughed. Nearby, Lukas heard Luffy's laugh.

"What's going on?" Lukas asked slowly, suspiciously, "What was that?" he pointed to the island where the fire erupted and was now just a smoke column.

No one answered him right away. Sabo was staring at the island, his face white as a sheet, blue eyes wide. Raion wound down his laughing and clapped Sabo on the shoulder.

"Well," he said, smirking, "It was nice knowing you, dude."


	12. Chapter 12

**** DISCLAIMER-PLEASE READ- I wrote this with another author, Jesachi u/711995/Jesachi, a long time ago. This is a continuation of a One Piece Fan Fiction Series, which began with The Way of the Sword and Rose, s/7270558/1/The-Way-of-The-Sword-and-Rose. Unlike Zoro's story, we HAVE NO EDITED THIS STORY, and may never do so, but we felt we wanted to share the story with you anyways. Because this story was written as a role play between myself and Jesachi, the story continually switches perspectives between the two main characters. I hope this doesn't bother you, but I apologize if it does, but you HAVE BEEN WARNED.

This Story takes place many years after the conclusion of the One Piece Story Line, and continues on with the story of Rouge, Ace's daughter. Ace survives the Battle of Marineford in a roleplay we aren't ready to put up yet. His survival is not known to many people in the world, but he and his wife Mara have two lovely children, and this is the story of their eldest child, Rouge. It is, perhaps, my absolute favorite FanFiction that I have ever written, so...Please enjoy!********

Rouge looked up at the flames and let out a slow sigh, shaking her head and reaching out to pat Sabo on the top of his blond head. "If you throw me under the bus for this, I promise you will not like the outcome. It's so gruesome I'm not even going to go into detail," Rouge said simply and shrugged her shoulders. She shifted until she could wedge herself under Lukas' arm, and wrapped one arm around his lean waist.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, I'm not going to taddle or point fingers," Sabo complained, holding his arms out from his sides to express his offense. "I'm a man. I can take anything he can throw at me."

Raion snorted again, and Sabo turned to cut a hot glare at his best friend and cousin.

Rouge just chuckled, then tilted her head until she could peek past the rim of her hat and peer up at Lukas. "So, there's this one little thing that I forgot to mention to you before you decided to tie your life to mine..." Rouge started with a somewhat sheepish voice, her lips slowly stretching into a huge, shit-eating grin, one that looked _just_ like the one Sabo had been wearing only moments before the island had come into sight.

"and it's kinda something you have to take to the grave with you, and only family knows..." Rouge continued to draw out, looking away from Lukas now and towards the island, where her father was sure to be throwing a fit on the shore while Mara either attempted to calm him down or knock him out.

Rouge tugged Lukas towards the railing closest to the shore, so that her father would see her clearly and know that she was safe, hoping that might temper his anger slightly. "See, my father had me before he was executed at Marineford...but he had Sabo-"

"Aaaaaaacccceeeee! Yo, brother! We totally kicked ass!" Luffy suddenly shouted from the lion's head as they came into range, and Rouge winced as a roar and a burst of flames rent the air agin.

His mind was reeling. He had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, but his eyes were bouncing from her grin to Sabo's albeit pale-faced one to the island to Luffy's shout to Rouge again. Wait... whoa whoa whoa whoa...

His memory jumped back to Impel Down, that heart-racing moment when he felt Sabo slip from the dragon scales and pummel to the floor.

"Nee-saaaannnnnnn!"

How back at her cache island when Lukas said he couldn't figure out who the kid belonged to, Raion and Rouge snorted and it was an odd little moment as Sabo answered casually that he belonged to Sanji. Lukas had thought that was odd at the time, because the Marines only knew of Black Leg Sanji having a little girl...

How Rouge avoided the question so many months ago when she explained that she wanted a devil fruit that commemorated her father a little bit.

"So why didn't you just get the fire-fire fruit?"

The answer was right there, all along and he was living in the shadow of doubt cast over the entire world. Sabo was, what, fifteen years old? Almost sixteen?

Portgas D. Ace was alive.

"No way..." Lukas breathed as the ship dropped anchor out in deeper waters and Luffy launched himself across the shallow waters to the beach. Folks without devil fruits jumped ship and started wading to shore while Usopp carted devil fruit users across the ocean in the Mini-Merry. Rouge grabbed him and Sabo and shifted to flight mode to glide them over the expanse until they were on the sand.

"You!"

Lukas' eyes were wide as saucers as he watched a very-much alive Portgas D. Ace stomp across the shore to a very ashen Sabo. He still looked every bit like his wanted poster from twenty years ago, except maybe he had more lines around his eyes, probably from raising a couple of hellions. And smack dab in the middle of his bare torso was a horrible scar about the size of his whole hand.

Ace grabbed Sabo by the front of his shirt, "You..." the man seemed at a loss for words, as if he didn't know where to begin, "You are grounded for the rest of your god-damned life," he finally settled on and dropped his son. Sabo immediately darted over to a beautiful woman with tumbles of smooth blonde hair and she hugged him and kissed his whole face and then checked him over. His mother, clearly.

"And you!" Ace turned his fiery stare over to Rouge and shook his finger at her, "I'll deal with you later..."

"ACCEEEEE!" Luffy shouted, "Oh man! You should have been there, bro! It was TOTALLY AWESOME!" the Pirate King was oblivious to the ire that raced in flaming tendrils over his brother's arms and torso.

"YOU!" Ace shouted and he grabbed Luffy by his throat, throttling the man and shook his hard, "You brought my son to IMPEL DOWN? I should kill you where you stand, little brother!"

Luffy laughed, "What? Raion came..." as if that solved everything.

Ace gaped before making a sarcastic face, "Oh ya, sure, you bring your son into the most dangerous place in the whole world so you decided he needed a damned PLAYMATE? You brought our FIFTEEN YEAR OLD KIDS to a PRISON! What the fuck was going through your rubbery head!?"

Luffy continued to laugh, "They're fine!"

Fire Fist released his brother as fire came out of his nostrils in rhythmic breaths. Lukas was still trying to wrap his head around this whole thing when the man turned to him, "And YOU! You started all this!"

Lukas gaped for a heartbeat, blinking before he retorted, "I was minding my own business in my cell for your daughter. Don't blame me..."

Ace looked about ready to wipe the floor with someone when the blonde woman appeared at his elbow, touching his flaming skin. Steam appeared, "You must be Lukas!" she said before bouncing up to him and giving him a hug. She was textbook grace and fluidity, "Oh! We've heard so much about you! We are so glad you're safe!" she kissed both his cheeks and Lukas had the grace to flush slightly, "I'm Mara, Rouge and Sabo's mother. And you've met my charming husband, Ace," she turned a dazzling smile over her shoulder and the fire man seemed to die down a little, "I'm sure this is all very overwhelming..."

"Mother!" Sabo appeared, much calmer and more color in his cheeks, "Give the man some space, would ya? We just hauled his ass out of jail 24 hours ago..."

Now that he was seeing the whole family together, it was clear as the nose on his face that Sabo looked just like his father. The shape of his mouth, the nose, the shape of his eyes, the freckles, the dimples, everything. Except for the blonde and blue. He was even going to have Ace's height, already a few inches taller than his mother and his sister. Though, he was narrower framed, not as broad. Rouge, on the other hand, except for her mouth and the freckles, she looked like her mother with the eyes and the petite, narrow frame. And when Mara excused herself to see her daughter, they moved similarly too, but Lukas supposed that Rouge learned by watching.

"I don't know if I like you yet, marine," Lukas turned his attention back to Ace, who was watching him with his arms crossed over his chest.

Lukas mirrored the stance, "I did keep your daughter's ass out of jail," he pointed out.

Ace was quiet and that's when Lukas felt it. The ripple of energy. The willpower. Ace was exercising some Emperor's Haki on him.

Luffy appeared out of nowhere, "Bro! Don't even try! He's totally immune to it!" the Pirate King stated with a laugh, "I tried it on him for shits and giggles last night. Shanks even tried! Totally strong!" Luffy whacked Lukas hard on the back, forcing the ex-marine to take a step forward to counterbalance, "This guy's a tiger!"

"Oh Ace!" Mara came back and draped herself over his arm, "You can't be intimidating if you tried. You're just a big softy..." she said that last bit like she was talking to a child before turning to Lukas, "He'll warm up to you." she smiled.

Lukas shook his head with a little smirk, "I think he's already warmed up to me." he nodded towards the trickles of flame that still raced over the man.

And despite the stern expression on his face, Ace's lips quirked up in a little grin.

Rouge shook her head at her father, having shifted back to her human form with her hands planted on her hips and her tumbles of black hair framing her face. "Daddy, you can never stay mad at me for long anyways. So I took my little brother and cousin into the biggest prison on the planet and kicked some ass. I'm a terrible, naughty girl, and Lukas can spank me for it later, but it's done and over, and you love me, so get over it." Rouge shrugged her shoulders casually, like this was an obvious statement, but all of the men in the vicinity gaped at her open-mouthed and socked by her words.

Ace spluttered as his cheeks flamed red and his eyes widened with horror, "He is _not_ spanking you for anything ever!" he professed passionately and angrily, turning furrowed brows on the ex-marine in question.

"As if you haven't spanked mom, dad, so move on from that too," Rouge sighed patronizingly, and Ace's stared turned incredulous and miffed as he swung it back on his daughter. Fire raced up his arms and back as he pointed a finger at her face and started marching towards her. Nearby, Zoro, Sanji, Franky, and Luffy were having a tough time keeping it together as they grinned affectionately at their spunky niece, less phased by her blunt personality that she more often expressed on the open sea than on her home island.

"Now you listen, you little brat. I raised a fine lady, not some-" Ace muttered, his other hand balling into a fist as he continued to point. Rouge cut him off by stepping forward and biting down on his finger, effectively eating and putting out the fire as well as stopping her father's tirade mid-speech.

"Daddy, he makes me happy. He makes me happy like mom makes you happy. You would have done the exact some thing, so just be happy for me," Rouge said in a softer voice, grabbed her fathers hand and pulling it down between them, but not releasing it. She smiled up at Ace, and tilted her head to the side, "Trust me when I say he's a good guy."

Ace stared down at his daughter with a small frown on his face, searching her eyes. He seemed to be having a mental struggle, when finally he let out a sigh and turned to look at Lukas with a begrudging respect in his eyes. It wasn't often that his daughter was so heated about a person's character, and that meant he'd earned her respect, not easy to do considering the men and women she'd been raised by, all very impressive individuals.

"So, Lukas Knowles...looks like we have a lot of getting to know one another ahead of us..." Ace finally said with a slow growing grin that was obvious forced, but hinted to the same feral grin that Rouge wore when she was looking forward to kicking ass, despite the good-natured vibe that Ace was throwing off.

"I am _totally_ training with him, dibs," Raion piped up, earning him a smack from Luffy up the back of the head. "Hey! What? He's got skills with weapons, and I want to improve mine!"

"You ruined the moment!" Luffy complained, reaching out to ruffle his kid's hair. "And I thought you wanted to train more with me!" he added more sullenly.

Raion sighed and rolled his eyes, and Rouge chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest and gazing over at Lukas with a bright smile.

What the hell had he gotten himself into? He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that less than 24 hours ago, he had been locked in a cell at Impel Down for an indefinite amount of time and now... now he was intimately involved with the world's most notorious pirate family, a family which apparently carried the world's most well-kept secret.

Again, he was flushed with the feeling of being overwhelmed. His head ping-ponged back and forth between Rouge and Ace as they bantered back and forth, the reason for her sass apparent. Ace appeared to be a rather unreasonable and stubborn father. As unyielding as the fire he wielded. His wife, on the other hand, was flexible and fairly calm and as Luffy and Raion started getting into it, their voices mingling with Rouge and Ace's, Mara deftly placed her arm through Ace's and the other through Sabo's and started walking towards the waterfall with purpose. Nami grabbed her husband and her son and followed suit and within moments, everyone was heading towards the waterfall. Someone mentioned another party and the conversation quickly turned.

Behind the waterfall was a large rock tunnel that soon flowed into a massive, and massive was underestimating it, cavern that housed an entire bustling village. The villagers were ecstatic to see the Pirate King and his crew and before the crowd could completely bombard them with well wishes and welcome homes, Lukas spotted Sabo slipping away from his mother and disappearing through the crowd. Raion snickered.

"Where does that boy think he's going?" Ace growled, then turned to Raion upon hearing said muffled chuckle, "You have something to say, boy?"

The teen shrugged non-too-innocently, "No clue, sir." he said, feigning that innocence.

Ace glared, but before that conversation could start to turn volatile, the crowd was being parted violently and four young girls came shoving through the people.

"Daddy!" they all cried at the same time.

Lukas looked on as Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were all immediately set upon by little girls. Luffy's daughter looked no older than 11, with long copper-red hair like her mother. She all but threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around neck and her skinny little legs around his waist. He laughed and swung her around. Zoro was engulfed by two bodies, both with snow white curls and identical impish faces. He made an attempt to peel them off while Tikka laughed at him.

Sanji, however, was not swamped by his only child. In fact, it seemed comically opposite. The young girl suddenly stopped in front of him and put her little hands on her hips and glared at him with sharp blue eyes.

"You were gone an awfully long time, father," she scolded.

"Cerise-chaaaaaannnnn!" Sanji swooned, turning in a perfect pirouette and lifting her off her feet in a hug and spinning her around, "I missed you sooooooo much!"

She sighed visibly, "You are embarrassing yourself. Put me down this instant!"

He did and she straightened out her little dress and pulled her at long blonde ponytail to calm the fly-aways. But for all her seriousness, she was smiling a little.

For that afternoon and late, late, late into the evening, a party bloomed and blossomed town-wide and Lukas was tossed in a million different directions. The whole town was curious to meet the man that apparently tamed their fiery little dragon. Everyone welcomed him with open arms. And as this was now the second party with the Straw Hats, Lukas fell into a much more comfortable pattern with them.

Sometime, during the late evening, Sabo came skulking back and Lukas didn't miss it as Raion immediately bombarded him, arm slung over his shoulder and they talked quietly together. Raion was nudging him with a huge grin and Sabo was shrugging it off and grinning. Lukas couldn't help but smirk as he watched them. Girl issues. He could practically smell it off them.

By the wee hours of the morning, Rouge - drunkenly, but charmingly so - grabbed him and dragged him away from the party and down the street away from the noise and the music to her parent's house, the house she grew up in. She hustled him around, giving him a quick courtesy tour before dragging him, stumbling and laughing into her bedroom.

It was the next morning when Lukas woke up with an incredible urge to urinate. He untangled his naked body from Rouge, not disturbing her one bit and yanked on some shorts. He winced as he bent down to retrieve them and twisted his torso around to glance at his broad back in the mirror. Ten vicious-looking scratches went from his shoulders down and disappearing into his shorts. If he could call them scratches. Looked more like someone had taken a dagger to his back. He smirked. They looked good next to the white scars he had from that very first night they spent together.

He trodded, bare-chested, to the bathroom to empty his bladder. Then, he decided that some water wouldn't be so bad and he went into the kitchen. Ace and Mara were awake, sitting at the kitchen table, both huddled together to read the paper that Ace was holding.

Rouge's mother glanced up with a happy smile, "Good morning, Lukas!" she beamed.

He offered her a small smile in return, "Morning," he said, his voice rough and hungover. He turned and opened the fridge door for some water and behind him, he heard a classic spit-take and Mara gasp. The paper rustled.

Lukas turned and blinked. Ace looked the color of puce, his chin dripping coffee and Mara was pushing her seat back and sweeping the drenched paper out of the way, scolding him for being ridiculous.

"What..." Ace sputtered, "What... your back..."

Lukas went over to the cupboard and poured a glass of water, took a sip, then grinned like a Cheshire Cat. Mara burst out laughing as Ace's jaw dropped and Lukas waltzed out of the kitchen and back into Rouge's bedroom. Damn. He was gonna have soooo much fun fucking with that guy.

Lukas carefully placed the glass beside the bed, dropped drawer and crawled back into the bed under the covers, snuggling up against his favorite naked body. She moaned and buried her face against his chest. Grinning, he leaned down and whispered something naughty in her ear and she opened one, cat-slit eye and her body did that thing where it flipped to scales then back to skin again like thousands of coins.

"If you so insist..." she purred and the sound sent a shiver of pleasure right down his spine and forward to his cock. And he let her roll him onto his back, starting them off on a very good foot the first morning of the rest of their lives.

************ Next Up in the Series- Raion! Get excited! I hope you enjoyed, leave me a review and let me know what you think! Thank you for reading! ***************


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